Export-Import Bank of the United States (US-EXIM) has granted a $1.5 billion loan to Nigeria to boost solar energy infrastructure in the country. The announcement came from the CEO of the US-based SUN Africa LLC, Adam Cortese, after a meeting of the delegates of the company with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
The sanctioned loan is a government-to-government transaction facility at a concessional rate of over 20 years. SUN Africa will help in the project development and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) will own the assets.
The NDPHC will utilize the loan facility to provide solar power at ten different locations in Nigeria. The power facilities would not only produce low-cost electricity but also enable the company to pay back the loan and generate a profit on top of it.
According to President Buhari, the rapid integration of solar power into Nigeria’s energy mix would lead to an increase in energy access across the country and provide electricity for underserved communities across the country. The administration had embarked on several reforms aiming revitalization of the country’s energy sector.
The President mentioned the government would remain committed to collaborating with private companies for improving energy access and industrial development. He also commended the interest of the US developer SUN Africa to invest in Nigeria’s power sector.
Buhari commented, ‘‘The Ministers of Finance and Power, as well as other agencies of government, will remain available at all times, to ensure the achievement of this significant project as part of our efforts towards achieving Net Zero Emission by 2050.”
Goran Rajsic, Founder of SUN Africa, said the renewable infrastructure company aims to deliver solar power in multiple locations across Nigeria, just as it has completed in Angola with US EXIM’s financing. Rajsic mentioned that his company has the capacity to meet Nigeria’s power requirement and is working with other leading energy companies in Africa.
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