Nigeria to use $100mn of Chinese loan to upgrade ICT
Nigeria to use $100mn of Chinese loan to upgrade ICT
West African nation, Nigeria, has secured a $1.1billion loan from China and a significant portion of that will be used to finance the country's Information Communication Technology (ICT) construction projects, a senior government official has said.
Finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who signed the loan deal on behalf of the Nigerian government, said $100 million of the loan would be channelled towards government’s ICT infrastructure projects.
Okonjo-Iweala added that the project named the Galaxy Backbone was designed to tackle technology connectivity challenges among government agencies, ministries and departments.
She also indicated that $500 million of the loan would go towards the construction of new airport terminals in Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano.
And the remaining $500 million would be used for the construction of a light rail system in Abuja.
“These projects will definitely make a great impact on the lives of all Nigerians,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She said the four new airport terminals would create jobs and ensure that Nigerian air passengers enjoy convenient services.