Chinese Government pledges concessional loan funds for Construction of 330kV Power Transmission Lines connecting Nigeria, Niger, and Benin

In 2017, the Chinese government pledged the use of unspecified preferential loan funding for construction of two 330 kV power transmission lines: (1) from Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria to Niamey, Niger, and (2) from Zabori, Niger to Malanville, Benin. These transmission lines form part of the West Africa North Core Interconnection Project, which connects the power markets of Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin/Togo. However, by the end of 2018, Chinese official financiers no longer appear to have been included in the group of financiers for the project. Financiers that have formally committed funds include the French Development Agency, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the World Bank, and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Additional details

1. It is possible that this project was originally going to be funded via the 1 billion USD concessional loan captured via Project ID#31049, which was cancelled prior to any disbursements, insofar as the 330 kv transmission lines were discussed in conjunction with the Koa Cement Plant in 2017 Chinese media sources. The Koa Cement plant was also originally to be funded via Project ID#31049, but was ultimately cancelled. However, because there is no evidence of a formal financial commitment in the case of the 330 kV power transmission lines, project status has been set to Pipeline: Pledge. 2. The following sources indicate the project received Chinese official financing: the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2017, China.org in February 2017, Xinhua in July 2018, and, most importantly, the African Development Bank Group's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Summary (ESIA) published in August 2017. However, recent (2020 - 2023) media reports, and most importantly, a March 2018 document and the 2020 Annual Report from the West African Power Pool both list project financiers, none of which are Chinese official financiers.

Number of official sources

9

Number of total sources

14