By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Federal Government has approved a $750 million World Bank loan for the construction of 1,200 mini-grids in rural communities across the country.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, Abba Aliyu, made this disclosure on Tuesday, 21 May, 2024 while addressing journalists at the Alliance for Rural Electrification Energy Access Forum held in Lagos.
According to Aliyu, President Bola Tinubu approved the fund for the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, which is aimed at providing energy access to Nigerians in rural communities.
He noted that the loan was approved to close the gap between Nigerians who have electricity and those without electricity.
He added that 23 per cent of the 85 million unelectrified Nigerians will be provided with electricity when the project is completed.
“The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, approved the biggest public sector-funded off-grid project worldwide. It is a $750 million project, and REA will use that funding as a capital subsidy to incentivize the private sector to electrify 23 per cent of the total unelectrified Nigerians, and we are very clear about how we want to achieve that,” he said.
