The Debt Management Office (DMO) said it has issued N362.577 billion Sovereign Sukuk between September 2017 and June 2021 to finance important road projects across the country.
Before the year 2021 runs to a close, the DMO said it will issue another round of N250 billion Sovereign Sukuk to finance critical road projects in the six geopolitical zones.
A statement from the DMO in Abuja on Tuesday gave a breakdown of how much was raised from Sovereign Sukuk bonds between 2017 when it debuted and June 2021 and on what the money raised was used for.
According to the DMO, the debut Sovereign Sukuk issued in 2017 raised N100 billion which was used “to finance the rehabilitation and construction of twenty-five (25) road projects across the six (6) geopolitical zones”.
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The DMO also issued a Sukuk for N100 billion in 2018 and another for N162.557 billion in 2020.
“The proceeds of these two (2) Sukuk issuances were also deployed to twenty-eight (28) and forty-four (44) road projects, also in the six (6) geopolitical zones”.
“In summary, a total of N362.577 billion Sovereign Sukuk was issued between September 2017 and June 2021,” the statement said.
However, before the year ends, the DMO disclosed that it will issue “another Sovereign Sukuk this year for an expected amount of N200 – N250 billion to finance critical road projects across the country”.
The DMO noted that “the use of Sukuk, has enabled timely completion of the designated projects whilst also delivering the multiplier effects associated with construction of capital projects such as roads”.
Since the debut Sovereign Sukuk in September 2017 the DMO said the benefit of issuing the Sovereign Sukuk include “improved road infrastructure within and outside cities in Nigeria”.
The Sukuk, the debt management authority, said “has been commended as a viable instrument for financing infrastructure”.
Regarding the coming N250 billion Sovereign Sukuk issuance, the DMO said it has “already appointed Transaction Parties through the Open Competitive Bidding Process for the issuance of this fourth Sovereign Sukuk.
The DMO was optimistic the planned Sovereign Sukuk issuance will attract “high subscription level for the Sukuk when the Offer opens.