The Federal Government is seeking assistance from the African Development Bank (AFDB) to finance coal-to-power projects across Nigeria, according to Yinka Oyebode, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development on Media.

It is not clear how much assistance the Federal Government is seeking from the bank but the funding arrangement, which the Ministry is facilitating, would be accessible to operators who were ready to establish coal-to-power plants with a capacity of at least 500 Megawatts.

Let’s recall that the Ministry had before now acquired $150 million from the World Bank to develop the sector but the fund did not cover coal development.

Nigeria currently generates about 4,000 MW of electricity against a demand of 12,000 MW. This energy shortfall is a vital factor in the worst economic downturn over the past 25 years currently observed in the country.

Anita Fatunji