President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a fresh external loan of $516 million to support the construction of parts of the proposed Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.

The request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Thursday.

According to the President, the loan is expected to be sourced from Deutsche Bank and will be used to fund Sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the major highway project.

The Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway is one of the flagship infrastructure projects under the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The planned road is expected to stretch about 1,000 kilometres, linking Illela in Sokoto State to Badagry in Lagos State. It will pass through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states.

President Tinubu said the project is designed to strengthen economic ties between northern and southern Nigeria by improving transportation, reducing travel time, and lowering logistics costs.

He also noted that the road would help boost trade, improve food supply chains, enhance road safety, and connect production centres to key markets and ports.

According to the proposal, the loan will run for nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with interest tied to the SOFR benchmark plus 5.3 percent annually.

The Federal Government is also expected to provide ₦265.5 billion as counterpart funding for land acquisition, compensation, and other related infrastructure costs.

Tinubu informed lawmakers that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the financing structure.

During Senate discussions, lawmakers described the highway as a project with strong economic value, saying it could significantly reduce travel time between Sokoto and Lagos from about 13 hours to six hours.

Senate President Akpabio also praised the initiative, calling it a potential game-changer for national productivity, safety, and economic growth.

The request has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, which has been asked to report back within one week.