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Abuja - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will travel to China next week to sign Chinese loans to the value of $3bn to build infrastructure in Africa's most populous country.
Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the agreed loans would come from the Chinese government and would be based on interest rates of less than 3% over a 15-20 year period.
The deal underscores increasing Chinese interest in Africa and its resources - Nigeria is the continent's top oil producer - in competition with Western powers.
Okonjo-Iweala estimates Nigeria needs $10bn a year of investment to improve infrastructure like roads and electricity to keep up with a rapidly growing population, already about 170 million, and to sustain economic growth at around 6-7%.
US President Barack Obama launched a $7bn initiative on Sunday to help Africa with electricity shortages but this is dwarfed by the $20m in loans China has promised the continent. Obama did not visit Nigeria.
Okonjo-Iweala said: "We know that China fuelled its growth by really keeping one step ahead in terms of infrastructure ... we need roads, power as well as help with aviation and agriculture.
China has made a string of cheap loans in the past few years to countries in Africa, a continent which supplies oil and raw materials like copper and uranium to the world's most populous country and second-largest economy.
The loans to Nigeria include $500m to build airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano; and over $700m to build a hydroelectric power plant in Niger State.
It also includes $600m to build a light railway in the capital Abuja, most of which has already been invested on a project due to be completed early next year.
Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the agreed loans would come from the Chinese government and would be based on interest rates of less than 3% over a 15-20 year period.
The deal underscores increasing Chinese interest in Africa and its resources - Nigeria is the continent's top oil producer - in competition with Western powers.
Okonjo-Iweala estimates Nigeria needs $10bn a year of investment to improve infrastructure like roads and electricity to keep up with a rapidly growing population, already about 170 million, and to sustain economic growth at around 6-7%.
US President Barack Obama launched a $7bn initiative on Sunday to help Africa with electricity shortages but this is dwarfed by the $20m in loans China has promised the continent. Obama did not visit Nigeria.
Okonjo-Iweala said: "We know that China fuelled its growth by really keeping one step ahead in terms of infrastructure ... we need roads, power as well as help with aviation and agriculture.
China has made a string of cheap loans in the past few years to countries in Africa, a continent which supplies oil and raw materials like copper and uranium to the world's most populous country and second-largest economy.
The loans to Nigeria include $500m to build airport terminals in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano; and over $700m to build a hydroelectric power plant in Niger State.
It also includes $600m to build a light railway in the capital Abuja, most of which has already been invested on a project due to be completed early next year.
