China set to invest $5bn in Nigeria to fund 2017 budget

The Federal Government said it is considering an investment proposal of $5bn (about N1.525 trillion) from China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) to partly fund the 2017 budget.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe kachikwu,disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when a delegation of the Chinese company visited him in his office to concretize the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, it entered into with the Federal Government at a road show in June this year.

A statement from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in Abuja quoted Kachikwu as saying the company should make the process of accessing the over $5 billion dollars investments it pledged, convenient for the Nigerian Government.

In his words:“The Nigerian government is anxious that the money should be available for use in the 2017 national budget. Norinco should fast-track the process of implementation of the MoU the company signed with Nigeria during the China Investors Road Show which we undertook in China in June this year.”

The Minister commended the NORINCO team for their commitment and informed them that the MOU which they both entered into in China in June was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Kachikwu added that he had been given the go-ahead to actualize the memorandum, adding that it was on the basis of that go-ahead by FEC that he on Monday inaugurated a high powered inter-ministerial implementation committee to spearhead the actualization of the terms of the MOU.

Responding, Chairman of the NORINCO delegation, Liu Yujiang, described Nigeria as a great country and announced that the visit by his team is to concretize the terms of the MOU.

Yujiang said their areas of interest cover defence, oil and manufacturing amongst others, while he promised that Norinco will fully cooperate with Nigeria and help to develop local companies to contribute to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

However, in a separate statement, the Ministry stated that President Muhammadu Buhari, with the assistance of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, will on Thursday, in Abuja, launch the Petroleum Industry Roadmap otherwise known as the “7 BIG WINS”.

The event, the statement noted is slated to take place at the State House Conference Centre, Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The ‘7 Big Wins’, the Ministry explained are the short and medium term priority programmes of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources aimed at fast-tracking the growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

“The focal areas of the Petroleum Industry Roadmap include: Policy and Regulation, Business Environment and Investment Drive, Gas Revolution, Refineries and Local Production Capacity, Niger Delta and Security, Transparency and Efficiency and Stakeholder Management and International Coordination,” the statement added.