AfDB’s Active Portfolio In Nigeria Now $4.8bn
The African Development Bank (AfDB)’s active portfolio in Nigeria rose to $4.8 billion as at December 13, 2019, the bank disclosed in a statement at the weekend.
With AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, telling Nigerian journalists in April that the multilateral development finance institution’s active portfolio in the country stood at $4.5billion, as at the end of March this year, it means the portfolio increased by $300million between March 31 and December 13, 2019.
Also, while the AfDB President said in April this year that the bank’s $4.5billion active portfolio as at the end of March comprised 60 operations, which include 28 public sector operations with total commitments of $1.7 billion (21 national and seven regional); 34 non-sovereign operations with total commitments of $2.8 billion, the latest statement by the AfDB shows that as at December 13 2019, the bank’s active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, of which 54 are national and seven are regional.
According to the release, the bank’s total commitment to these projects is $4.8 billion and it includes water and sanitation projects worth $606.0 million.
The AfDB had announced in the press release that its Board of Directors last Thursday approved a $124.2 million loan to finance the urban water sector reform and Akure Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Nigeria.
It stated that the amount included an African Growing Together Fund (AGTF) loan of $20 million, adding that the overall project cost was $222.69 million and will span five years from 2020-2025.
According to the release, the project is set to address bottlenecks in critical water supply services to households in the densely populated project area.
In addition, it will provide residents of Akure city (Ondo State) and its environs, access to safe drinking water and sanitation and also strengthen the Federal Government’s capacity to facilitate urban Water Supply and Sanitation reforms.
“The project will particularly contribute to improving the living conditions of the communities in the project area. Involving these communities in the public awareness and marketing activities, will increase the project’s ownership and ensure they pay for the water supply and sanitation services,” said Ebrima Faal, Senior Director at the bank’s Nigeria regional office.
Specifically, the bank stated that “on completion, the project will benefit the 1.3 million residents of Akure City and vicinities. At the Federal level, the project’s urban water reform component will establish a water and sanitation investment programme that will contribute to scaling up of the National WASH Action plan 2018-2030.
“The project, which combines ‘hard’ water, sanitation and environmental protection infrastructure with ‘soft’ analytical and institutional reform support, aligns with the bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (TYS) and its High 5s priority areas, the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Policy.”
