China Eximbank pledges $500 million loan for Electricity Transmission Network Project

In August 2013, China Eximbank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Nigeria for a $500 million concessional loan to expand the country’s power transmission networks. The Federal Government of Nigeria also entered into an agreement with Xi'an Electric Company Limited to execute a $500 million electricity transmission project aimed at expanding and upgrading Nigeria's weak transmission network within two years. This project was to be designed and supervised by Manitoba Hydro International (MHI), the Federal Government of Nigeria’s appointed management contractor for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). China Eximbank’s loan pledge was part of a larger $1.6 billion financial package from the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and a Euro Bond Issue. However, it does not appear that that this pledge ever materialized into an official commitment.

Additional details

Boston University’s China's Global Energy Finance Database identifies this $500 million loan as an official commitment. However, AidData has not identified any official sources that confirm that a loan agreement was finalized. Also, in its “Status of Loans Obtained from China Exim As At March 31, 2020” publication, the Government of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) does not identify a loan for this purpose/project.

Number of official sources

1

Number of total sources

14