The PUNCH reported a May 25, 2027, estimated approval date for Nigeria’s proposed $500 million World Bank plan for INFRAGROW, three days before the current presidential term ends.
The newspaper said the date appears in a World Bank Initial Project Information Document it obtained. It reported that the document was updated Nov. 4, 2026, and that the financing has not been approved and its timetable could change.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable sets the current presidential term’s end at May 28, 2027. The PUNCH separately reported May 29 as the next inauguration date; the INEC timetable specifies the term’s end, not the ceremony date.
The PUNCH named the Federal Ministry of Finance as borrower and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the project’s implementing agency. The proposed funding is divided between the World Bank’s two lending arms: the International Development Association would provide $100 million, while the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development would provide $400 million, the newspaper reported.
The PUNCH put the wider financing structure at $3.85 billion. Its breakdown includes $200 million in NSIA equity, $200 million from private investors, $600 million in commercial debt and $2.35 billion in guarantees. Those guarantees include $100 million in International Development Association payment guarantees and $2.25 billion from other international financial institutions. The total combines financing, equity and guarantees, so it is not all lending.
NSIA said it was seeking expressions of interest for legal advice on the proposed platform, which it is developing with the World Bank. A procurement-site copy of an NSIA notice outlines a holding company and four planned facilities: one for project preparation, one for viability-gap support, one for risk capital and one for credit guarantees.
The PUNCH said the project document puts Nigeria’s annual infrastructure financing gap at about $100 billion and points to low investment and limited project preparation as obstacles. It also identifies possible risks involving land acquisition, community displacement and environmental damage. Commercial banks, pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors are named as potential participants.
The next reported milestone is a technical design review on Jan. 21, 2027, according to The PUNCH.
