The Nigerian Government has given the nod for a substantial $750 million loan from the World Bank, earmarked for erecting 1,200 mini-grids in rural pockets nationwide.
This disclosure came from Abba Aliyu, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), during a media briefing at the Alliance for Rural Electrification Energy Access Forum in Lagos.
Aliyu underscored that President Bola Tinubu greenlit the funding for the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, geared towards extending energy access to rural Nigerians. The loan aims to narrow the gap between those with electricity and those without. When the project reaches fruition, it’s anticipated that 23% of the 85 million Nigerians currently lacking electricity will be illuminated.
Aliyu further emphasized that this initiative, hailed as the largest public sector-funded off-grid project globally, will leverage the loan as a capital subsidy to galvanize private sector participation in electrifying these underserved areas.
