The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to China will finalise $1.1bn in low-interest loans for much-needed infrastructure, from airports and roads to a hydropower plant.
Okonjo-Iweala said the loans were part of the $3bn approved by China at interest rates less than three per cent.
She told The Associated Press that she was also looking for Chinese investment and increased trade with Nigeria.
“China is desirous of increasing its lifting of Nigerian oil,” she said.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke, is among senior cabinet members on the trip along with several state governors.
Alison-Madueke said as United States demand for Nigerian oil had fallen, India and China had taken up the slack.
Jonathan and his entourage were expected to leave Nigeria on Monday night for the four-day visit starting Tuesday.
