The Federal Government has opened talks with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a $238 million loan facility to boost Nigeria’s electricity transmission network.
The discussions were part of the outcomes of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held in Yokohama, Japan, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led the Nigerian delegation, alongside the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and other top officials.
High-level meetings were held with Japanese energy giants, including Toshiba, Hitachi, Japan’s Transmission & Distribution Corporation, and Energy Exchange corporations, with discussions focusing on modernizing transmission infrastructure, improving operational efficiency, and reducing system losses. The loan proposal builds on the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for a ₦19 billion counterpart funding, paving the way for JICA’s $238 million intervention.
According to details from the Ministry of Power, the facility will fund the construction of 102.95km of new 330kV double circuit (DC) lines, 104.59km of 132kV DC lines, four 330/132/33kV substations, two 132/33kV substations, two 330kV line bay extensions, two 132kV line bay extensions, and one new 132kV substation. In addition, Nigeria is advancing talks for a separate $190 million renewable energy loan facility with JICA to scale up distributed energy solutions, targeting underserved communities across the country.
This is coming on the heels of the $750 million World Bank-funded Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme under the Mission 300 Compact, which aims to provide clean and reliable electricity to over 17 million Nigerians.
Meanwhile, three substations funded by JICA through a $32 million grant are nearing completion in Apo (FCT), Keffi (Nasarawa State), and Apapa (Lagos State). These facilities are expected to directly improve supply to households, industries, and critical hubs, including the Lagos Port and surrounding industrial clusters.
Minister Adelabu also revealed that through the JICA partnership, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) has acquired state-of-the-art training equipment in Abuja to equip local engineers with the skills needed to tackle network losses and sustain long-term sector reforms.
He noted that the Federal Government is committed to strengthening the power value chain, stressing that Nigeria’s collaboration with JICA represents not just financial support, but also technology transfer and capacity building for the country’s power sector.