NIGERIA – The World Bank has approved six projects worth about US$2.2bn for implementation in Nigeria in the 2020 fiscal year.
A statement issued by the World Bank said the projects would support human capital and economic development in a bid to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
According to the statement, the facilities approved by the bank will finance projects aimed at improving immunisation, creating stronger business environment for the private sector and expanding the digital economy for job creation.
The projects also seek to increase public and private sector capacities on governance, and provide social and environmental safeguards.
World Bank Group President, David Malpass while announcing the approval of the projects said, “Nigeria is central to the World Bank Group’s mission of tackling extreme poverty.
The bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, explained that the projects were aimed at delivering better services for Nigerians.
“The World Bank is carefully targeting its support on high impact projects as the country works to tackle corruption and lift 100 million of its people out of poverty,” the World Bank President added.
The projects will be funded by the International Development Association, the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Federal Government.
The projects include a malaria fighting scheme, a rural roads upgrade project, a digital identification project and a project to facilitate private investments in Ogun state.
The scheme targeted at boosting immunisation and the campaign against Malaria in selected states is to be financed under concessional terms through an IDA credit of US$650m.
The Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project which seeks to upgrade rural roads and improve connectivity and access to local markets and agribusiness services in 13 states will be co-financed by the IDA (US$280m), the French Development Agency (US$230), and the Federal Government of Nigeria (US$65m).
The Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project is to be co-financed through an IDA credit of $115m, $100m from the French Development Agency, and $215m from the European Investment Bank.
Other projects include the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project which seeks to facilitate private investment in the state by improving the business environment.
The Ogun State project also aims at strengthening the linkages between agricultural producers, suppliers and service providers, and providing training and apprenticeships for women and farmers and is to be financed through an IDA credit of $250m.