Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has said that the $1.85 billion development
\nloan obtained by the state government from China is not meant to mortgage
\nthe future of the state, as insinuated by political detractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interest on the loan will not be more than three percent while the
\nloan has a repayment period of 15 years. The Chinese Bank will give 85
\npercent of the contract sum while we (Kano state government) will provide
\nthe remaining 15 percent\u201d, the governor stated.<\/p>\n
He made the clarification on Thursday while inaugurating a 13-member
\ncommittee to ensure effective implementation of the Kano Metropolitan
\nLight Rail project, to be executed by a joint venture of China Railway
\n18th Bureau Group Ltd and China Railway Construction Electrification
\nBureau Group.<\/p>\n
The governor stated that from its improving revenue earnings, the state
\ngovernment realized that it can pay the 15 percent of funds required for
\nthe project, adding that the rail project will pay for itself in the long
\nterm and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.<\/p>\n
He said government had decided to take the loan to finance the project
\nbecause developed countries across the world resort to development
\nfinancing, in the form of bank loans, to finance capital intensive
\ndevelopmental projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rail projects in Britain Germany, France and the US were constructed
\nwith bank loans. Also, the light rail projects in Lagos, Port Harcourt ad
\nKaduna were constructed with loans obtained from banks. Even the Lagos \u2013
\nAbuja \u2013 Kaduna \u2013 Kano rail project, being constructed by the Federal
\ngovernment is financed with a loan. Ours is not an exception, so anybody
\nwho thinks we can do it alone is economically naive\u201d, the governor
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
Governor Ganduje said the impelmntation committee was expected to liaise
\nwith the contractors, the investment bankers, coordinators of the project
\nand the Federal Government that guaranteed the project.<\/p>\n
Responding on behalf of the committee members, the Chairman, Alhaji Isyaku
\nUmar Tofa, who doubles as chairman of the state Investment Promotion
\nAgency, thanked Ganduje for the appointment, and assured that the
\ncommittee would justify the mandate.<\/p>\n
Governor Ganduje, who returned recently from a trip to China, explained
\nthat he met with officials of the Bank of China, Bank of Development and
\nChina EXIM Bank to discuss modalities for funding the project.<\/p>\n
He also visited Saudi Arabia where he held a meeting with officials of the
\nIslamic Development Bank in Jeddah, for financing the upgrade of Wudil
\nWater Treatment Plant, seven regional water schemes as well as irrigation
\nfacilities across Kano.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Governor Ganduje, alongside some state governors and top
\nsecurity officials met in Abuja, with the National Security Adviser, in
\nrespect of religious crisis and security challenges, arising from the
\ncurrent onslaught against Boko Haram in the North Eastern part of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has said that the $1.85 billion development loan obtained by the state government from China is not meant to mortgage the future of the state, as insinuated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n