The dam, according to the report will be constructed in the eastern part of the country.

“We hope to break ground this year if we can conclude the financing,” Power, Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola said in a Jan. 23 interview in the capital, Abuja. “Contracts are in place. We are good to go.”

According to the minister, the Chinese lender would provide 85 percent of cost with China Civil Engineering Corporation providing the design and labour for the dam which would have four dams and 700 kilometers of transmission lines.

The government expects power-production capacity to increase to 8,600 megawatts in a year from 7,000 megawatts