Nigeria is negotiating with China’s Export-Import Bank for a $2 billion loan to fund a new “super grid” aimed at addressing the country’s persistent power shortages.
The disclosure was made by Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu during an economic summit in Abuja on Monday.
Adelabu explained that the project is part of broader government efforts to decentralize power generation and to encourage large-scale industrial users, who had disconnected from the national grid due to its unreliability, to reconnect.
“It’s part of plans to decentralise power generation in Nigeria and get the heavy commercial users that left the power grid because of its unreliability to return,” he said.
The new transmission infrastructure is set to link the eastern and western regions of Nigeria, where the majority of industrial consumers are concentrated.
Nigeria’s power grid has suffered multiple collapses over the years, primarily due to inadequate generation capacity, transmission constraints, and technical faults. The proposed super grid aims to enhance transmission efficiency and ensure more reliable electricity supply to industrial zones.
Adelabu confirmed that the Federal Executive Council has already approved financing for the project.
He also highlighted the impact of recent tariff adjustments for urban consumers, noting that these changes increased industry revenues by 70% in 2024 and are projected to rise further by 41% to N2.4 trillion ($1.6 billion) this year.
