By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
APPROVAL FOR a $516,333,007 foreign loan has been requested from the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu to support sections of the Sokoto Badagry superhighway project.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the request was conveyed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary.
President Tinubu sought approval for a $516.3 million foreign syndicated loan to fund sections 1, 1A and 1B of the project, covering about 120 kilometres, and asked that it be included in the Federal Government’s borrowing plan already approved by the National Assembly (NASS).
In the communication read by Akpabio, the President requested a resolution in line with Sections 16 and 21 of the Debt Management Office Establishment Act 2011 to enable the Federal Government to secure the financing.
The loan facility is to be arranged through Deutsche Bank AG.
President Tinubu stated that the superhighway project is a flagship initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to enhance national connectivity, reduce travel time and improve the movement of goods across key economic corridors.
He said the project involves the construction of an approximately 1,000 kilometre high capacity carriageway linking Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos states, stretching from Illela to Badagry.
“The proposed financing arrangement comprises a syndicated loan to be secured through Deutsche Bank AG, supported by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank,” the letter reads.
The President stated that the Federal Government will provide counterpart funding of N265,542,689,569 covering land acquisition, compensation and ancillary infrastructure, while the financing arrangement will be backed by a partial risk guarantee from ICIEC.
He said the loan is structured for nine years including a three-year grace period, with an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 percent per annum, adding that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has already approved the financing plan.
Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and directed it to report back within one week.
He said it is better to borrow for projects to improve road safety and foster national integration.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that President Tinubu said the road project will improve network performance along the corridor, reduce logistics costs and travel time, facilitate trade, strengthen food security and promote national integration by linking production zones to markets and ports, while providing long term intermodal flexibility through provision for future rail integration and utility corridors.
He therefore urged the Senate to consider and approve the request expeditiously.
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