The Federal Government is looking beyond Nigerian banks to raise $3.4bn needed to fund power projects in the country because of high interest rates being charged on loans by local banks.
The Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Power, Mr. Beks Dagogo-Jack, said Nigerian banks had not done enough in terms of understanding how the ongoing reforms in the power sector worked.
He spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the Presidential Power Reform Transaction signing ceremony in Abuja on Monday.
According to him, the international financial institutions that will fund the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s projects are willing to provide the capital at competitive interest rates.
Dagogo-Jack said, “The banks and institutions mentioned by the Minister of Power are coming with interest rates that are very low. This is different from the over 20 per cent rates that our own banks give. There are also other issues, which banks in Nigeria do not understand about the power sector and they need to take time to know these issues.
“If Nigerian banks want to compete, they should compete on all fronts. And I think this is something, which the Power minister and stakeholders in the banking sector should sit down together and discuss.”
Dagogo-Jack’s opinion was prompted by the Chairman, TCN, Mr. Tony Elumelu, who called on the Federal Government to start considering Nigerian banks as sources of financing power projects.
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