Deutsche Bank has arranged $516.3 million in financing for the Federal Ministry of Finance to support the design and construction of the first section of Nigeria’s 1,290-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, as the Federal Government seeks to strengthen domestic connectivity and regional trade infrastructure.
The financing, announced on October 28, combines Islamic finance with multilateral credit insurance, providing a nine-year funding structure for the strategic infrastructure project linking northern Nigeria to the Atlantic coast.
According to Deutsche Bank, it acted as the sole mandated lead arranger for the facility, which was structured as a Commodity Murabaha transaction in accordance with Shariah principles.
The arrangement also benefits from a Non-Honouring of Sovereign Financial Obligation insurance policy issued by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
The combination of Shariah-compliant financing and credit insurance provides a framework for supporting long-term sovereign infrastructure investment while incorporating risk-management protection from a multilateral institution.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway is planned as a 1,290-kilometre dual carriageway spanning seven states, connecting Sokoto in north-western Nigeria with Badagry on the Atlantic coast.
The road is expected to improve the movement of goods and people across the country, strengthen connections between major economic centres and link two Trans-African Highway networks.
Its proposed route gives the project significance beyond domestic transportation, with the potential to improve Nigeria’s integration into regional trade networks across West Africa.
Maryam Khosrowshahi, Chair of Global SSA, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Coverage and CEEMEA Sovereign DCM at Deutsche Bank, said the transaction demonstrated how innovative financing structures could help enable large infrastructure projects across Africa.
“Large-scale infrastructure requires long-term financing solutions tailored to the needs of sovereign clients,” she said.
She added that combining Islamic financing with ICIEC’s credit insurance demonstrated how financial institutions could develop funding solutions for complex infrastructure projects.
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The transaction highlights the role of international banks and multilateral institutions in structuring financing for large-scale public infrastructure, particularly where long-term funding and sovereign risk-management arrangements are required.
However, the $516.3 million facility covers the first section of the proposed highway, rather than establishing the financing position for the entire 1,290-kilometre project.
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