EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund may embark on Over N 1 trillion worth of Projects in Nigeria

The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, has disclosed that the Federal Government is in talks with development partners from Europe concerning the financing of energy and power projects in the country. The total costs of the projects are in excess of N 1 trillion and are of strategic importance to not only Nigeria but also the European Union.

Meeting with a delegation of representatives of the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund led by Mr. Pere Phillip, the minister disclosed that two projects being considered by the Nigerian and European Union governments are the Mambilla Power Project, a hydro-electric power project estimated to cost about $3 billion.

Another project up for consideration is the Calabar-Kano gas pipeline that forms part of the Trans Sahara pipeline which will eventually supply gas to Europe. The Calabar to Kano phase of the project is estimated to cost about $ 2 billion.

Some major Stakeholders of the EU-Africa Trust Fund include the African Union, African Development Bank, European Union, European Commission, and NEPAD.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) also a stakeholder in the Trust Fund has called on details of the projects to be made available including equity structure, duration of funding and other technical information.