The Federal Government has applied for six new loans totalling $2.23 billion from the World Bank this year for funding key projects and as part of its fiscal moves to reduce the financing gap in the financial year (FY) 2025 budget’s implementation.
Available data from the World Bank’s official website indicated that if the new request by the government is approved by the Board of the multilateral development finance institution, Nigeria’s indebtedness to the bank rise to $9.25 billion over the past three years, reflecting a growing reliance by the government on multilateral funding to support critical sectors of the economy.
Specifically, in financial year 2025, the six new loan requests of the Federal Government from the World Bank, with a combined value of $2.23 billion, are intended for funding key sectors, including digital infrastructure, healthcare, education, food security, and community resilience.
According to the data on the World Bank’s website, the proposed new projects included the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth initiative, which is expected to gulp $500 million for the expansion of broadband internet access in underserved areas of the country.
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The digital infrastructure project aligns with the Federal Government’s digital economy strategy, which seeks to improve connectivity and enhance economic opportunities through the expansion of high-quality digital infrastructure.
The Nigeria Health Security Programme’s loan totalling $300 million, which is also pending the bank board’s approval is expected to enhance Nigeria’s regional collaboration and health system capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies.
The Solutions for Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project loan request for the sum of $300 million is also in the approval stage. It is aimed at improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons and host communities in northern Nigeria.
Similarly, the Washington D.C-based multilateral financial institution is also in the process of reviewing the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, which is expected to receive $80 million to enhance the provision of cost-effective, convergent, nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under the age of five.
The Federal Government is also expecting the approval of $552 million from the bank this year for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All project to improve foundational learning outcomes, increase access to basic education, and strengthen education systems in participating states.
The final loan of $500 million being expected by the Federal Government for approval by the World Bank is for the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, which is designed to expand access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms.
Available information from government sources indicated that the negotiation process for the various projects is currently at various stages, ranging from concept reviews to decision meetings.
For instance, while the BRIDGE initiative and the Health Security Programme are at the concept review stage, projects such as the HOPE for Quality Basic Education and the Nutrition Results Programme have reached advanced negotiation stage.
The World Bank board’s approvals on the six loans are expected to be secured by the Nigerian government between March and September this year for the various projects.Revenue
