The African Development Bank has expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the first phase of Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones project, raising concerns about the disbursement of the $210 million loan allocated for the initiative.
According to the bank’s latest Implementation Progress and Results Report dated January 30, 2025, published on the Bank’s website, 98.39 per cent of the total loan remains undisbursed more than two years after the project was approved.
The SAPZS-I project was approved in December 2021 as part of efforts to drive agro-industrial development in Nigeria by establishing processing hubs, supporting infrastructure, and improving agricultural productivity.
However, the project has suffered significant delays, leading to warnings from the AfDB and the introduction of remedial measures to hasten implementation.
The report read, “Procurement of supervision consultants for the DBO contractors is at RFP stage in the case of Kaduna State and REOI stage for Oyo, Imo and Cross River State Design Build and Operate bidding documents have been cleared for four states of Kaduna, Cross River, Oyo and Ogun states and Kaduna has already advertised its DBO.
“All these will result in improved implementation, disbursement, and rating in the year 2025. However overall performance status from the time of project approval to date is relatively slow, especially with respect to project disbursement.”
It reveals that of the total loan amount of $210m, only 1.61 per cent has been disbursed as of December 2024.
The ADB was to provide $160m of the total loan, while the Africa Growing Together Fund would provide an additional $50m.
The report by Punch newspaper on Monday said that the AGTF was a $2bn facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the AfDB.
It added that in spite of the availability of these funds, the pace of disbursement has been sluggish.
Further breakdown of the figures shows that only 1.93 per cent of the AfDB’s portion of the loan has been disbursed, leaving 98.07 per cent undisbursed.
Similarly, the AGTF’s portion has recorded a disbursement rate of just 0.58 per cent, with 99.42 per cent of the funds yet to be utilised.
The report explained the regional bank identified administrative inefficiencies, weak capacity among project staff, and delays in procurement processes as key factors hindering the disbursement and implementation of the initiative.
