The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Exim-Bank

  • Southeast not excluded from railway upgrade – Ministry

    Southeast not excluded from railway upgrade – Ministry

    The Ministry of Transportation on Friday dismissed fears that the Southeast will not benefit from the ongoing upgrading of the country’s railways.

    The project is to be financed with a $5.851 billion loan from China’s Exim bank.

    The ministry in a statement issued by its Director of Public Relations, Yetunde Sonaike, said no section of the country is left out of the railway upgrading.

    “The Federal Ministry of Transportation wishes to state clearly that the south-east geo-political zone has not been excluded from the Federal Government ongoing rail projects,” she said in an apparent response to the decision of the Senate to summon the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to come and explain why the eastern corridor of the country’s rail lines was excluded from the proposed loan.

    “The two major rail projects of the federal government are the Coastal Rail Project from Lagos – Calabar, which traverse Lagos –Shagamu -Ore-Benin City – Sapele – Warri – Yenogoa.

    “With siding to Otuoke – Port Harcourt- Aba- Uyo – Calabar and branch line from Benin City Abudu – Onitsha, including Onitsha rail bridge. Lagos – Kano rail project will traverse Lagos – Abeokuta – Ibadan –Oshogbo – Ilorin – Jebba – Minna – Kaduna – Zaria-Kano, with branch line from Minna – Abuja and Abuja – Kaduna.

    “The Federal Ministry of Transportation wishes to state categorically that the loan from China Exim Bank will be used to fund the following three segments from the two major rail projects. Lagos – Ibadan, from Lagos – Abeokuta – Ibadan with extension to Apapa Port Complex with the segment two of Lagos – Kano.

    “Kano – Kaduna, segment 3A of Lagos – Kano – Calabar – Port Harcourt, which will pass through Port Harcourt – Aba-Uyo – Calabar with extension to Onne Deep Sea Port,” the statement added.

     

  • Nigeria seeks China EXIM Bank’s funding for critical projects

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, yesterday met with the management of Chinese EXIM Bank, Beijing, China, to seek funding for critical infrastructure projects in the country.

    The meeting is a follow-up to President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit   to China.

    President Buhari had during the state visit in April this year, reached various agreements with the Chinese government on development assistance particularly the funding of some critical infrastructure in the country. The visit by Buhari further bolstered Nigeria’s participation in the 10 critical areas under the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

    Udoma is in China to attend the FOCAC Coordinators meeting.

    In the meeting with the Vice President of EXIM Bank of China, Yuan Xingyong, at the bank’s headquarters in Beijing, Udoma said Nigeria will appreciate the financial assistance from the bank to enable it execute some of the basic infrastructure projects that will drive growth, develop the economy and increase business partnership with its global business allies.

    Udoma said the visit was to exchange views with the management of the bank and to see how Nigeria can deepen the bilateral cooperation already existing between it and China.

    “Our relationship with China is very important to us, which was why our president led a big delegation on a state visit to China in April this year. We are quite impressed with the infrastructural development in China and believe that China has a lot to teach us in Nigeria; particularly we will like the support of China in the area of infrastructure development,” he said.

    The minister said he believes strongly that the rapid development of Nigeria will enable the country to be a better business partner with China as the volume of business and investments will grow bigger and better.

    “We have a list of some projects, some of them we have started work and others about to start, which we had submitted to China for financial assistance. Some of the priority projects, the president has asked me to stress include the Nigerian railway modernisation projects from Lagos to Kano – (Lagos –Ibadan) and Lagos – Kano (Kano – Kaduna) which are two parts of the same project; the coastal railway project from Calabar to Lagos, the Mambilla Hydro-electric project and the Niger Delta East West road project.

    “These projects are estimated to be completed in three years. Other projects which the government are interested in developing include power transmission projects, Greater Abuja Water project, Abuja Mass Transit project, Galaxy Backbone project, NTA Digitalisation, expansion of Abuja Keffi road, and the dualisation of the Akwanga – Keffi road,” he said.

    Udoma also mentioned other projects the government was considering to include the Presidential Initiative for the Rehabilitation of the Northeast and the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) that the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry was seeking to develop to attract firms wishing to come into the country to manufacture principally for exports.

  • Trade Expansion: EXIM Bank signs MoU with UBA

    Trade Expansion: EXIM Bank signs MoU with UBA

    Fred Hochberg, Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank), and Phillips Oduoza, CEO and Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the goal of expanding trade between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa at the World Economic Forum Africa (WEF) in Kigali.

    The MOU is a statement of general intent between EXIM Bank and UBA to promote the availability of EXIM financing of up to $100 million in the region.

    “This memorandum signals to American exporters and African businesses alike that there are many more promising opportunities to work together, and EXIM stands ready to provide the financing needed to turn more of those opportunities into realities.

    “EXIM Bank is proud to build on its decade’s long commitment to financing American exports to sub-Saharan Africa,” said Chairman Hochberg.

    He said EXIM Bank and UBA will work together to share information and develop export-financing opportunities in key sectors including commodities, agriculture and food products, spare parts, and large and small equipment purchases.

    The two were joined by Uzoka Kennedy, Deputy Managing Director and Group Managing Director Designate, UBA and Sola Yomi-Ajayi, Group Head, Financial Institutions and International Organizations, UBA, who all participated in the signing ceremony.

    Under the MOU, EXIM Bank and UBA will explore options for offering a range of financing solutions for American exporters and African buyers, including short and medium-term financing programs that allow for flexible repayment terms and competitive insurance policies guaranteed by EXIM.

    Since 2009, EXIM has provided more than $6 billion in financing for transactions across sub-Saharan Africa. For the fiscal year ending in 2014, the Bank supported $2.05 billion in transactions in more than 20 sub-Saharan African countries.

    In 2014, the Bank signed a $100 million MOU with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA Bank) to finance U.S. exports to the region that target both Diaspora businesses in the U.S. and PTA Bank’s member states.

     

  • $600m China Exim-Bank rail loan not diverted, says Okonjo-Iweala

    $600m China Exim-Bank rail loan not diverted, says Okonjo-Iweala

    The former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has described as false, the allegation that she diverted a substantial part of a one billion dollar loan from the China-Exim Bank.

    The refuttal is contained in a statement in Abuja yesterday by Mr Paul Nwabuikwu, Special Adviser to Okonjo-Iweala.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Mohammed Bashar, said about $600 million of the one $1 billion loan obtained from the China-Exim Bank for Kano-Lagos rail project was diverted to other projects.

    Okonjo-Iweala said the Goodluck Jonathan administration never obtained a loan from the China-Exim Bank for Kano-Lagos rail project.

    “The alleged diversion has no substance for the simple reason that the Kano-Lagos project was not among the projects presented for funding by the China-Exim bank.

    “It was the Lagos–Ibadan rail project, not Lagos-Kano rail project that was proposed in the original application to the China-Exim Bank, but in the end, no funds were assigned for Lagos-Ibadan rail project.

    She said the projects covered by the China Exim-Bank loan were at different stages.

    They include “the $500 million expansion of four International airport terminals in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

    “There is also the $500 million Abuja Light Rail project; $984 million Zungeru Hydro-electric power project and $100 million Galaxy Backbone project,” she said.

    Okonjo-Iweala said the diversion of the fund would have been extremely difficult due the terms attached to the loan.

    “The procedure is that funds for approved loans remain in the China-EximBank and are released directly to the Chinese firm executing the contract only after the presentation of duly certified proof of work by the responsible ministry.

    “In this case it would have been the Federal Ministry of Transport, based on the agreed milestones.

    “For the sake of emphasis, the China-Exim Bank does not disburse money directly to government and therefore the issue of diversion does not arise,” she said.