Nigeria Greenlights Major Chinese-Funded Road Project

Nigeria has approved a $652-million funding package from China Exim Bank to construct a critical road connecting Lagos with its southern states. This project intends to ease the transportation of goods originating from essential industrial sites near Lagos, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Chairman David Umahi announced the project's approval by the federal executive council, led by President Bola Tinubu. The road will serve as an evacuation corridor for commodities from Africa's largest petroleum refinery and fertiliser plant to a dozen southern states.

This initiative is the latest in a series of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in Nigeria, which relies heavily on its borrowed capital. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and its top oil producer, currently owes China over $5 billion, as reported by the Debt Management Office.

(With inputs from agencies.)