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Chinese companies get record-breaking $5.8 billion deal to build hydropower plant in Nigeria
Despite being one of the largest economies in Africa, over 40% of Nigerians live without access to electricity, according to World Bank figures
The contract was awarded to a consortium of Chinese state-owned construction firms to deliver 3,050-megawatt Mambila hydroelectric power project in the state of Taraba
The power plant construction will also come with four dams between 50 and 150 meters tall.
According to Nigeria's Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, the mega project will is bound to be completed in six years time.
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85% of the funds needed for the project will be provided by the Chinese Export-Import Bank with the Nigerian government contributing 15%.
Minister Fashola claimed the project will deliver far-reaching benefits.
"(Mambila) will have a transformational effect on all of Nigeria's socio-economic development," he said through a government spokesman, "It will have considerable positive impact on electricity supply nationwide, productivity, employment, tourism, technology transfer, rural development, irrigation, agriculture and food production."
Hydropower is said to be one of the cleanest and cheapest forms of power. It is equally a key target for development as Nigeria is currently exploiting just a fraction of its potential resources.
The country is also seeking to shift away from oil dependency after plummeting oil prices triggered a recession.
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The power plant is one of the several major Chinese investments in Nigeria, including multiple railway projects.
In January, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi announced plans to invest a further $40 billion in Nigeria.
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