Governor Abdullahi
Ganduje of Kano State has said that the $1.85 billion development loan obtained
by the state government from China is not meant to mortgage her future,
as
insinuated by political detractors.
Ganduje who made the
clarification recently while inaugurating a 13-member committee to ensure
effective implementation of the Kano Metropolitan Light Rail project, to be executed
by a joint venture of China Railway 18th Bureau Group Ltd, and China Railway
Construction Electrification Bureau Group, added that the loan was of
concessional nature, and of favorable terms
Ganduje said that
from its improving revenue earnings, the state government realised that it can
pay the 15 per cent funds required for the project, adding that the rail
project will pay for itself in the long term and leave a lasting legacy for
future generations.
He said government
had decided to take the loan to finance the project because developed countries
across the world resort to development financing, in the form of bank loans, to
finance capital intensive developmental projects.
“The interest on the
loan will not be more than three per cent while the loan has a repayment period
of 15 years. The Chinese Bank will give 85 per cent of the contract sum, while
Kano State government will provide the remaining 15 percent,” the governor
stated.
Governor Ganduje
said the implementation committee is expected to liaise with the contractors,
the investment bankers, coordinators of the project and the Federal Government
that guaranteed the project.
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