The Northern Corridor Project, an electrical project co-funded by the European Union, AFD, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, has a grant agreement worth €25 million that was signed on Thursday by the Federal Government and the French Development Agency.
According to information obtained, the EU’s contribution to the €238 million (or N103.76 billion at the official exchange rate of N435.97/€) needed for the project was represented by the €25 million grant agreement on Thursday.
Sule Abdulaziz, the managing director of TCN, said during the signing ceremony in Abuja that the project was not only crucial for the Northern Corridor but would help enhance the nation’s electricity transmission generally.
“This will surely give a boost to power transmission in general because it is very critical to not just the Northern corridor but to the entire system,” he stated.
In the presence of the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, and the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, the agreement was signed by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, and the Country Director for AFD in Nigeria, Xavier Muron.
By enhancing the quality of Nigeria’s electrical network and fostering the formation of a regional power market under the West African Power Pool, the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s Northern Corridor Project seeks to boost a low-carbon economic growth in West Africa.
As the AFD commitment of €202 million had been negotiated in December 2020, the grant agreement that was signed on Thursday reflected the EU’s contribution to the project. The total cost of the project is around €238m, including €12m from TCN.
