World Bank Set To Approve $1.5 Billion Loan To Nigeria

The World Bank is set to approve a new loan totalling $1.5billion to the federal government.

The financial institution’s project list indicated that the loan will be approved on September 26.

The $1.5 billion will be distributed through three major development projects aimed at improving Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation capacity. The projects, targeting crucial sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and infrastructure, are pivotal for the country’s sustainable development and economic stability.

A breakdown of the projects showed the World Bank will approve $500 million for the first project tagged ‘Nigeria: Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Programme’.

The World Bank did not disclose the cost of the first project.

Another $500 million will be approved for the ‘Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) – Governance’ project, which has a project cost of $700 million.

The third project, ‘Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria,’ will also receive $500 million, but has a project cost of $10.75 billion.

One of the loan requests – ‘Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up,’ will receive $500 million by December 16. The other on ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ slated for an approval date of April 8, 2025, will receive N300 million.

In May, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said the federal government has secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank to boost electricity distribution in the country.

The federal government had received $750 million from the World Bank for humanitarian and social reforms and $1.5 billion for its economic stabilisation plan.

Also, on June 3, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the World Bank board of directors would consider a loan of $2.25 billion for Nigeria.