The federal government is about to take a fresh loan of the value of $500 million from the World Bank. The information is contained in a World Bank Project Information Document sighted by Bushlink Online Newspaper. The narration is that the loan, when granted, will be used for the improvement of dams across the country. It is with a purpose to improve dam safety and enhance water resource management across the country.
The project for which the loan was requested focuses on four critical areas which include institutional strengthening and capacity building; irrigation modernisation; improvements in dam operations and safety; and project management. The document noted that the devastating 2022 floods caused an estimated $6.7bn in economic damage, which has become a matter of urgency for the dam to be renovated to improve dam safety and water management.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria has over 400 dams which are in dire need of rehabilitation with the proposed approval date for the SPIN project at September 26, 2024, when renovations will commence.
The document reveals, “Nigeria faces water security challenges, which impact water availability for drinking water, energy and food production, and are increasingly exacerbated by climate change, putting livelihoods and economic development at risk.
” Harnessing water storage, and dam safety, is central to climate change adaptation and mitigation in Nigeria. It is a prerequisite to improving water management for water supply, irrigation, and hydropower generation and offers protection from floods and droughts.
“Nigeria has over 400 dams and an estimated total combined storage of 59 billion cubic meters. 46 per cent of dams are federally owned and are managed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, through River Basin Development Authorities. 48 per cent of dams are state-owned and are managed by a state ministry. Many dams are incomplete and more than 50 per cent of the large dams built in the 1970s and 80s require rehabilitation.
“This situation is due in part to institutions responsible for dam management, whether at the federal or state level, having inadequate budget, human resources and capacity to ensure dam management, operation and maintenance and non-adherence to operational manuals, where they exist.”
The loan will also be used to rehabilitate and modernise 40,000 hectares of irrigated land.
