The Federal Government is seeking a $500m facility from the World Bank according to a document seen by Daily Trust on Monday.
The loan amount is part of a proposed $3.85bn financing package for infrastructure development in Nigeria.
The proposed Nigeria Infrastructure Financing and De-Risking Platform for Growth and Jobs (INFRAGROW) project will combine loans, equity investments, commercial debt and financial guarantees to attract domestic and international investors into infrastructure projects.
According to the World Bank’s Initial Project Information Document, prepared on November 4, 2026, the proposed project has a total financing requirement of $3.85bn, comprising $400m from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $100m from the International Development Association (IDA).
The document lists the Federal Ministry of Finance as the borrower and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the implementing agency.
The World Bank has scheduled January 21, 2027, for the project’s estimated technical design review, while May 25, 2027, is listed as its estimated approval date.
The proposed financing comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s infrastructure financing deficit, which the World Bank estimates at approximately $100bn annually.
The bank said the deficit “remains a binding constraint on growth, fiscal sustainability, competitiveness, and job creation.”
It stated that Nigeria’s infrastructure challenge goes beyond the availability of funding, noting that the country also has a limited pipeline of well-prepared and bankable projects capable of attracting investment.
“Closing the financing gap therefore requires an integrated approach that combines rigorous project preparation, appropriately calibrated de-risking instruments tailored to each project’s residual risk profile, and targeted sectoral reforms to strengthen the operating environment,” the document stated.
Under the proposed financing arrangement, the Federal Government is expected to contribute $200m, while private sector investors will provide another $200m in equity.
The project will also attract $600m in commercial debt, while $2.35bn will come through guarantee arrangements, bringing the total proposed financing to $3.85bn.
The guarantees comprise $100m from an IDA payment guarantee and $2.25bn from other international financial institutions.
The NSIA, as the platform’s founding shareholder, is expected to provide an indicative $200m equity commitment to its holding company.
The World Bank also envisaged the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a co-anchor investor, providing additional risk-bearing capital to strengthen the platform and attract further private investment.
The proposed platform will operate through four independently governed subsidiaries designed to address different challenges in infrastructure financing.
The first, the Project Preparation Facility (PPF), will finance feasibility studies, transaction structuring, risk allocation and procurement support to transform infrastructure proposals into commercially viable and bankable projects.
The second, the Viability Gap Fund (VGF), will provide financial support to economically justified infrastructure projects that cannot achieve commercial viability through affordable user tariffs or sustainable government payments.
Under the proposed endowment model, the fund will preserve its capital base and finance viability-gap support primarily through investment returns.
The third, the Risk Capital Facility (RCF), will provide equity and quasi-equity financing, including mezzanine instruments, to commercially viable infrastructure projects facing shortages of risk-bearing capital.
The fourth, the Credit Guarantee Vehicle (CGV), will provide guarantees and other risk-mitigation instruments to improve the creditworthiness of projects and encourage long-term infrastructure financing.
The World Bank said the guarantee vehicle would operate three windows covering commercial credit and debt-service default risks, public-sector payment risks and political risks affecting eligible foreign investments.
The bank said that the guarantees would help extend financing tenors, reduce borrowing costs and mobilise domestic capital from banks, pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors.
The project will strengthen the capacity of public institutions to identify, prepare, appraise, procure, implement and supervise public-private partnership projects.
It will also support institutional measures to improve the assessment, monitoring and management of fiscal commitments and contingent liabilities associated with such projects.
The project will have four components covering the establishment of INFRAGROW’s institutional structures, development of infrastructure project pipelines, mobilisation of infrastructure financing and strengthening of the enabling environment for infrastructure investment.
The World Bank said the initiative aligned with its Nigeria Country Partnership Framework for 2026–2032, particularly its focus on mobilising private capital for infrastructure and supporting job creation through private sector-led growth.
The World Bank classified the project’s environmental and social risks as high, citing potential impacts from infrastructure investments in energy, transport and water.
It identified possible risks associated with large-scale construction, land acquisition, resettlement, community health and safety, biodiversity conservation and labour-related issues.
The document also highlighted Nigeria’s complex land tenure system, weak sub-national environmental and social governance, and exposure to flooding, extreme heat, drought and rising sea levels as factors that could increase project risks.
It stated that project sponsors and participating financial institutions would bear primary responsibility for environmental and social risk management, subject to oversight by INFRAGROW’s holding company and World Bank supervision.
The bank identified opportunities to improve environmental and social standards through feasibility assessments, project eligibility requirements for guarantees and institutional reforms within Nigeria’s infrastructure financing system.
