FCTA seeks partnership with Afreximbank to boost infrastructure, power

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello has urged the African Export Import Bank, (Afreximbank), to support the FCT Administration in the provision of infrastructure, especially in the powering of street and traffic lights within the nation’s capital city.
Bello, said with support from the bank, the FCTA could explore possibility of electricity generation, noting that Nigerian laws made provisions for the Eligible Customer that consumes electricity in excess of 2 megawatts to independently source for electricity.
He made this known during a recent visit by a delegation of the pan-African multilateral trade finance institution with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, led by its President and Chairman, Board of Directors, Professor Benedict O. Oramah to the FCTA.
The Minister, who received the delegation, expressed his excitement about the bank’s plans to construct an African Medical Center of Excellence, in Abuja.
He noted that establishment of the Medical Centre in Abuja, will not only attract people seeking medical attention within the African continent to the Center, but also reduce medical tourism from Nigeria.
Bello, who commended Afreximbank for its various projects and investments in the FCT said, “We feel highly honoured with your tangible presence in respect of the projects you are doing here and we look forward to your investments either directly or as an enabler.
“Because as you know, Abuja itself is a city that started from scratch and it’s a work in progress. So, we want enablers like you.
“The power laws in Nigeria now allows for what we call Eligible Customer. Once your consumption is up to two megawatts and obviously the consumption of the city is far above two megawatts, that allows us to create a solution that is off grid, and then of course we look at renewable options”.
Speaking earlier, Afreximbank’s President, Professor Benedict Oramah said the bank’s team was in the FCTA to brief the Minister on the progress made on the construction of the African Medical Center of Excellence and the African Trade Center in Abuja.
He also commended the FCT Minister for the tremendous support the bank has enjoyed from the FCTA, especially as it begins to implement some of its initiatives in Nigeria that are based in Abuja.
Similarly, the Bank’s Director Export Development and Ag. Director Project and Asset Based Finance, Oluranti Doherty, said the bank was working closely with leading international medical, human resource and construction consultants and expressed optimism that the ground breaking ceremony will be carried out by November of 2021.
It was gathered that the FCT Minister, had in May last year presented the Certificate of Occupancy of the land for the African Medical Center of Excellence to be situated in the proposed Abuja Medical City Development Project, to Mr. Abdoulaye Kone, Afreximbank’s Regional Chief Operating Officer, Anglophone West Africa.