President Muhammadu Buhari has laid a request before the Senate to approve   $12.921 billion loans as part of the federal government’s 2016-2018 external borrowing (rolling) plan. Bukola Saraki, Senate president, read the request in a memo titled: “Request for approval for Federal Government 2016-2018 external borrowing rolling plan,”at plenary yesterday.
“I wish to refer to my earlier letter in respect of the above subject and to inform the distinguished Senate that the China-Exim Bank has approved our request for a loan to execute the Lagos-Kano Railway modernisation project (Kano-Kaduna segment) for a sum of $1.231 billion. The Chinese have also informed us that approval of the Lagos-Kano railway modernisation project (Kano-Kaduna segment) and coastal Railway project. Lagos-Calabar segment, are imminent,” the memo stated.
President Buhari outlined the projects as follows: $1.231billion for Lagos-Kano railway modernisation project; Kano-Kaduna segment,$1.146 billion; and Coastal Railway project, Lagos-Calabar segment, $3.474 billion, all totalling $5.851 billion.
“As you are aware, the funds available under the China/Africa fund are limited and loan applications from all African countries are funded based on first come first serve. And therefore, there is an urgent need for us to sign these loans as soon as they are approved, or we will lose out in the event that we delay in signing the loan agreement. These loans form part of our overall rail funding strategy,: Buhari stated.
Continuing, he said, “We are already in the process of completing the concession of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri line to immediately link the eastern part of the nation. We fully intend to source further consessioning funding to ultimately upgrade this critical line to high speed standard guage line. These projects form part of our overall plans to resuscitate the rail transport across the nation and thereby drive inclusive growth.”
The letter said that the World Bank has approved a sum of $575 million to assist the federal government’s reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, as well as for the procurement of vaccines and other ancillary facilities for national routine immunisation to eradicate polio after the outbreak in the Northeast last year.
President Buhari noted that giving the current state of the country’s economy and the need to urgently address some infrastructural deficiencies in other to quickly improve the livelihood of Nigerians, “it has become imperative that we work together in an expeditious way to get our economy out of recession and back to growth.”
He appealed to the Senate, for an expeditious consideration and approval of the requests, which he said will go a long way in bringing stability to the Northeast and improvement on the infrastructure and by extension a great improvement in the economy and livelihood of our people.
“In view of the above, the Distinguished Senate is invited to urgently consider and approve all the above projects totaling a sum of $6.926 billion to enable us commence the construction and rehabilitation of the Northeast, provide for the poor and most vulnerable people and commence rail projects in earnest,” Buhari told the Senate.