The World Bank approves an extra loan of $ 65 million for Niger …

The World Bank has approved an additional credit for 65 million dollars for Nigeria as part of the project to enhance sustainable, environmental and social standards (thick), increasing total funding for $ 145 million.
Dangled buried in Saudi Arabia
According to information obtained from the World Bank website, the approval was granted on June 24, 2025 – offices days before the previously scheduled date of June 30th.

Since then the state of the project has been updated to “Active” and the World Bank has confirmed that it had achieved the “approved by the bank” phase.
Nigeria’s public debt affects N149.39 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 – Dmo
The Spesse project was initially launched in 2021, supported by a loan of $ 80 million approved in February 2020. Aims to develop a lasting institutional capacity for the management of contracts, environmental and social standards in the public and private sectors of Nigeria.

● New funds to expand electronic procedure and training

The new loan will support the national launch of the electronic government’s supply platform (E-GP).

This digital system should simplify supply processes, reduce delays and improve the transparency of public spending.

According to the World Bank, in a document previously issued on the additional funding, “AF will maintain the PDO of the main project without any change. The objective of development of the project is to develop sustainable skills in managing contracts, environmental and social standards in the public and private sectors”.

Funds also increase training and certification programs to professionalize the workforce of Nigeria contracts.

While over 33,000 people have been trained within the initial phase of the project, over 25,000 public officials are still targeted for training, based on government assessments.

While the original thick credit will close by 30 June 2026, the additional loan should remain in use until 30 June 2029.

“The parent credit will be closed on June 30, 2026, without any extension; however, it aims to close the AF on 30 June 2029,” said the World Bank in a document.

The new loan adds to the growing Nigeria debt actions with the World Bank. Starting from March 2025, the total debt in circulation against the institution was $ 18.23 billion, compared to $ 17.81 billion in December 2024 and $ 15.45 billion a previous year.

According to the latest data of the debt management office (DMO), the total debt with the World Bank includes $ 16.99 billion due to the International Development Association (IDA) and $ 1.24 billion to the international bank for reconstruction and development (IBRD). The loans of the World Bank now represent 39.6% of the total external debt of $ 45.98 billion, compared to 38.9% at the end of 2024 and 36.4% in March 2024.

With Nigeria continuing to rely on concessional funding to support the reforms of the public sector in the midst of a limited tax space, the expense project remains a top initiative pursuant to the wider institutional reform agenda in the country.

However, the growing dependence on external funding highlights the importance of ensuring that these projects offer measurable results and long -term value. [Nairametrics]

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