House of Reps Approve N2.4trn External Borrowings For FG

The House of Representatives yesterday approved an external borrowing of $5.8trillion (N2.4trn) and a grant component of $10,000,000 (N4.1bn) under the 2018-2020 external borrowing (rolling) plans for the Federal Government.

This followed the consideration and adoption of the final report of the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management on the proposed 2018–2020 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan No.3, laid by Rep Ahmed Safana Dayyabu at plenary.

Dayyabu said the external borrowings are to be used to fund approved projects in the power sector, health sector, water sector, NASENI, as well as agriculture and natural resources.

READ: Finance Minister To RMAFC: Your Job Is To Monitor, Not Collect Revenue

The funding agencies include: the World Bank ($2,300,000); German Consortium ($2,300,000,000) with a grant of $10,000,00; Islamic Development Bank ($90,000,000); China Exim Bank($786, 382,967), Bank of China ($276,981,586.50) and International Fund for Agricultural Development ($50,000,000) all totaling $5,803,364,553.50 with grant component of $10 million.

Under the power sector, the grid modernization and expansion programme (pre-engineering phase 1 under the presidential power initiative, PPI) is to gulp $2.3 billion and to be funded by the German Consortium.