DESPITE controversies that characterised its procurement procedure, the Federal Government has secured a $747 million syndicated loan to finance the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 9, by Mohammad Manga, the director of information and public relations at the Ministry of Finance.
It stated that the loan would finance Phase 1 Section 1 of the project, stretching 47 kilometres from Victoria Island to Eleko Village in Lagos.
“In a major milestone for Nigerian and West African infrastructure development, Deutsche Bank led a $747m syndicated loan to finance Phase 1 Section 1 (from Victoria Island to Eleko Village 47+47km) of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a flagship project under Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Agenda,” it said.
According to the ministry, Deutsche Bank acted as Global Coordinator, Initial Mandated Lead Arranger, and Bookrunner for the deal.
Other lenders in the syndicate include First Abu Dhabi Bank, African Export-Import Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, Nexent Bank N.V. (formerly Credit Europe Bank N.V.), and Zenith Bank.
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit also provided partial political and commercial risk insurance, it stated.
The financing is structured under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing contract awarded to Hitech Construction Company.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said that the transaction reflects growing investor confidence in the country’s economic reforms and infrastructure plans.
“This deal reflects the success of our macroeconomic reforms and the return of international capital to support Nigeria’s development.
“We are focused on financing infrastructure in ways that are sustainable, transparent, and catalytic—and this transaction is a model of that vision in action,” he said.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, believes that the transaction is a vote of confidence in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.
“The Lagos-Calabar Highway is a strategic national asset, and this financing sets a strong precedent for future public-private infrastructure partnerships,” he remarked.
The ICIR reported that the highway project has been enmeshed in controversy, as eminent Nigerians, including the former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, questioned the failure to follow due process required by law.
They further questioned the government’s priorities at a time when there is insecurity across the states, coupled with economic hardship that the citizens are faced with.
Designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, on Saturday, May 31, President Bola Tinubu commissioned 30(kilometres) km of the 750 km of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal project.