Nigeria Courts $5.7 Billion in Chinese Investment to Supercharge Power, Mining, and Manufacturing
China's growing economic footprint in Africa's largest economy is about to get significantly larger. Nigeria's Federal Government is actively working to lock in up to $5.7 billion in strategic investments from China, a capital push that targets three of the country's most underdeveloped yet critical sectors: power generation, mining, and industrial manufacturing.
High-Level Meeting Signals Serious Intent
The move gained formal momentum following a high-profile meeting in Abuja between Wale Edun, Nigeria's minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, and a delegation from GCL Group, one of China's major conglomerates, led by former Abia State Governor and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
The Federal Ministry of Finance announced the development on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, framing the engagement as a direct product of the economic reform agenda being championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nigeria moves to secure up to $5.7bn in strategic investments across power, mining and industrial manufacturing, the ministry stated, adding that the proposals span large-scale energy generation, local mineral processing and new factories aimed at boosting jobs, exports and value addition.
What GCL Group Brings to the Table
GCL Group's proposed investment portfolio is broad and ambitious. The plans reportedly include utility-scale energy generation projects, facilities for processing Nigeria's abundant raw minerals locally, and the establishment of new manufacturing plants across the country.
Taken together, these aren't simply infrastructure plays; they represent a structural shift in how Nigeria intends to engage with its own natural resources. Rather than continuing to export unprocessed raw materials at low value, the government is signalling a decisive pivot toward domestic value addition, a strategy that economists have long argued is essential for sustainable industrial growth.
The ministry noted that beyond direct job creation, the projects are designed to catalyse broader private sector participation and reduce Nigeria's deep dependence on imported finished goods.
A Broader Pattern of Chinese Capital Flowing Into Nigeria
This latest push doesn't exist in isolation. It is the most recent and largest chapter in an accelerating trend of Chinese investment into the Nigerian economy.
Nairametrics had previously reported that Chinese firms have poured over $1.3 billion into Nigeria's lithium processing industry alone over the past two years, reflecting strong interest in the country's significant deposits of battery-critical minerals.
In a separate development, twenty-five Chinese investors, led by the China Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC), conducted site inspections in Katsina State to assess agricultural and renewable energy opportunities valued at approximately $720 million.
Meanwhile, Stellar Steel Company Limited, a joint subsidiary of China's Galaxy Group and RSIN Group, announced plans to build a $450 million steel plant in Ogun State, a project that would meaningfully bolster Nigeria's domestic steel capacity.
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Why This Matters for Nigeria's Economic Trajectory
If secured, the $5.7 billion in GCL Group investments would rank among the largest single foreign investment commitments Nigeria has attracted in recent memory. The scale alone commands attention, but the strategic alignment may matter even more.
By targeting energy, mining, and manufacturing simultaneously, the initiative addresses three of the most persistent structural bottlenecks that have historically stunted Nigeria's industrial ambitions.
Chronic power deficits have long crippled manufacturing competitiveness. The mining sector, despite Nigeria sitting atop enormous mineral wealth, has remained largely underexploited.
And the country's manufacturing base has struggled to scale in the absence of reliable energy and processed inputs.
The ministry framed the investor interest as validation of the Tinubu administration's reform programme, describing the investments as a reflection of rising investor confidence in Nigeria's evolving policy environment.
Whether that confidence ultimately translates into shovels in the ground will depend on execution, something Nigeria has historically found more difficult than the signing of agreements. But the direction of travel, at least, is clear: the government is betting that transforming Nigeria from a raw material exporter into a processing and manufacturing hub is both achievable and urgent.