FG to start $750 million World bank rural electrification project next month

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has disclosed it is starting a new rural electricity project next month financed by the World Bank to the tune of $750 million to provide electricity to 17.5 million Nigerians.

The Managing Director of the REA, Engr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise daily program.

According to him, the Distributed Renewable Energy Scale up project is targeted at providing electricity for up to 17.5 million Nigerians using renewable energy source.

He noted that the project is one of the most ambitious in the world in terms of the target number of people it is estimated to provide electricity to.

Furthermore, Engr. Aliyu explained that of the 7.5 million people it is targeted to provide electricity to, three million will be from isolated mini grids, 1.5 million from interconnected mini grids while the others will be electrified via marched grid and stand-alone solar systems.

He said, “There is a new project that we are starting next month called Distributed Renewable Energy Scale up project which is a $750 million financed by the World Bank. The target of that project is to electrify 17.5 million Nigerians, and I must say that this is one of the most ambitious project in the world based on my understanding from India that has moved many unelectrified people to have access to electricity.” 

He said that the project is estimated to last for five years and was built on successes recorded from similar projects in the past which cost $550 million and funded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

What you should Know  

In December 2023, the World Bank approved the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, funded by a $750 million International Development Association (IDA) credit, which will attract over $1 billion in private capital and additional financing from development partners. This includes $100 million from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and $200 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

• Other partners supporting the program include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the German Development Agency (GIZ), SEforAll, and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

• It is estimated that almost 90 million people in Nigeria do not have access to electricity which is one of the highest in the world. Nigeria generates roughly 5000 Megawatts of electricity for its over 200 million population.
• Nigeria also has enormous potential in renewable energy generation having sunlight for up to 12 hours daily in the Northern region and significant wind and hydro power generation potentials.

Cover photo: By the Nairametrics