By Ayomide Otitoju
The Federal Government is in discussions with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for a $238 million loan to expand Nigeria’s national electricity grid, particularly the transmission segment of the power value chain.
The talks formed part of Nigeria’s engagements at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan, led by President Bola Tinubu and attended by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, among other officials.
During the summit, the Nigerian delegation held high-level meetings with Japanese stakeholders, including Toshiba, Hitachi, Japan’s Transmission & Distribution Corporation, and Energy Exchange corporations, with a focus on transmission infrastructure, operational efficiency, and strategies to curb system losses.
The loan initiative builds on recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of ₦19 billion in counterpart funding to unlock the facility. The project will add 102.95km of new 330kV double circuit (DC) lines, 104.59km of new 132kV DC lines, four 330/132/33kV substations, two 132/33kV substations, as well as multiple line bay extensions.
Adelabu also announced that Nigeria is progressing a $190 million renewable energy loan facility, also supported by JICA, to scale distributed renewable solutions across underserved communities. This complements the $750 million World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme under the Mission 300 Compact, which targets clean and reliable electricity for over 17 million Nigerians.
In addition, three substations funded through a $32 million JICA grant are due for commissioning in Apo (FCT), Keffi (Nasarawa State), and Apapa (Lagos State). These facilities are expected to bolster power supply to homes, businesses, and industrial clusters, including the Lagos Port.
Through its partnership with JICA, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) has also commissioned new training equipment in Abuja to enhance the capacity of distribution engineers and reduce network losses.
Speaking at a TICAD 9 panel session, Adelabu highlighted Nigeria’s energy realities, noting that only about 60 percent of the population has access to electricity, much of it unreliable. He said government efforts are now focused on expanding grid access in urban areas while accelerating solar mini-grids and standalone systems for rural and peri-urban communities.
Despite challenges such as limited access to affordable capital and high costs for rural households, the minister reaffirmed government’s commitment to overcoming barriers through supportive policies, private-sector partnerships, and local manufacturing of renewable energy components.
President Tinubu, in his remarks at the summit, underscored that Nigeria’s participation was aimed at forging strategic, outcome-driven partnerships. “We are deliberately shifting from planning to implementation, from agreements to delivery, and from promises to measurable results,” he said.
