To Boost Power Supply, Proton Energy Signs Project Preparatory Fund Agreement with Afreximbank

Proton Energy has reached a major milestone in the development of its 500 MW Proton Delta Sunrise project with the signing of a Term Sheet Agreement with Afreximbank on Thursday.

The plant would be built in two phases with the first phase delivering 150 MW of electricity to the national grid, whilst the second phase will add a further 350 MW and expand the plant’s capacity to 500 MW.
It is expected that the first phase will reach commercial operations in 2027, delivering much needed reliable incremental power megawatts to the national grid.

The Term Sheet was commemorated in Abuja, on the sidelines of the ongoing Afreximbank’s 2025 Annual Meetings.
The funding support takes Proton Energy’s project to financial close and construction start.

Nigeria currently scores low on major indices tracking the supply of reliable electricity to its population and the agreement is in line with government’s twin objectives of accelerating the development of a robust electricity sector and better utilizing its gas endowment for the betterment of its citizen.

The successful implementation of the project, combined with other electricity value chain initiatives that are currently underway, will help to lay the foundations, in the medium term, for an era characterised by the supply of reliable and affordable electricity to the general populace.
It is expected that this will dramatically improve standards of living, catalyse economic growth and help transition Nigeria into an upper middle income economy.

Commenting on the key milestone the Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO Oti Ikomi noted that:

“Proton Energy is a significantly advanced IPP project which, with the continued support of partners like Afrexim Bank will reach Financial Close early 2026. We thank our partners for their dedication towards executing this agreement and their contributions towards the development of a more robust domestic electricity market.”

Ikomi added: “Proton Energy will add up to 10,000 jobs (direct & indirect) during construction and attract over $250 million FDI to our country. The project has been designed to minimize its environmental footprint whilst better utilizing available domestic gas supplies which in many cases is flared.

“The project will be one of the first projects in Nigeria to utilise a more efficient Combined Cycle Gas Turbine configuration (CCGT) and will incorporate cutting-edge carbon reduction technologies.”

For his part, the Chairman of Proton Energy, Mr. Ike Osakwe said: “The Board of Proton Energy commends the Management of Proton Energy for diligently progressing the project over a number of years. We re-echo our gratitude to Afrexim Bank for the significant last mile funding to financial close. It is good to see the project reach near ‘shovel ready’ status and we expect that on the back of this achievement the project will be able to reach an early financial close and start to deliver a much needed reliable supply of power megawatts to the national grid.”
Proton Energy remains committed to the Nigerian power sector and believes that a vibrant Nigerian power sector will play a pivotal role in the country’s future economic development and will help unlock improved medium to long- term economic prospects.

In light of ongoing sectoral reforms, significant improvements are expected to be made in the near term that will contribute towards the long- term viability of the sector which in turn will enable the country to significantly boost its medium term growth prospects.