Nigeria and the French Development Agency (AFD) on Wednesday signed a grant of €25 million for the Northern Corridor Project to improve power supply.

The project is jointly funded by the European Union and AFD and implemented by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The project is meant to strengthen low-carbon economic growth in West Africa by improving the quality of the electricity network in Nigeria and supporting the development of a regional electricity market under the West African Power Pool.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement in Abuja, Clement Agba, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, said the project was in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan 2021 to 2025.

Mr Agba explained that the signing of the agreement showed that Nigeria was on track to implement the development plan.

“I want to thank the EU and AFD, and the French government for this intervention in Nigeria’s power sector, especially as it has to do with transmission lines and sub-stations,” the minister explained. “Power is very essential, and what we are signing today demonstrates this.”

Sule Abdulaziz, TCN managing director, thanked France and the EU for supporting Nigeria.

According to him, the Northern Corridor Project is critical to TCN to improve grid stability and the company’s expansion plan.

Mr Abdulaziz assured all parties of successful project implementation.

“Our appreciation also goes to the federal government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Power for facilitating this grant from the government of France and EU,” the TCN managing director added.

The French ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, said France was happy to support the project, highlighting the strong partnership between Nigeria, France and the EU.