Nigeria signs $1.3B power-plant deal with China

Nigeria has signed a $1.3 billion deal with two Chinese state-owned companies to build a hydroelectric power plant in Zungeru, 150 kilometers north of the capital Abuja. A loan from China's Eximbank will finance three-quarters of the cost of the 700 megawatt plant. China National Electrical Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) and Sinohydro will construct the power plant, which was first proposed three decades ago. Announcing the deal, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the plant should be in operation by 2018. Nigeria suffers from chronic power shortages.