ABUJA (Bloomberg) - Nigeria said China Civil Engineering Corp will build a US$5.8 billion (S$7.9 billion) hydro-power station in the country's eastern Mambila region with a capacity to generate 3,050 megawatts.

China's Export-Import Bank will provide 85 per cent of the funding for the project, which is scheduled to be completed in six years, Power, Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola told reporters on Wednesday (Aug 30) in the capital, Abuja. Nigeria will contribute the remaining funds.

"The scope of works are very extensive," Mr Fashola said. The project requires the construction of four dams and includes 700 kilometres of transmission lines.

One of the dams will be 150 metres high, two will be 70 metres and the smallest 50 metres, he said.

Nigeria is seeking to expand its power generation to drive economic growth after facing its worst contraction in a quarter of a century following a drop in revenue from oil, its main export.

The country of more than 180 million people generates about 4,000 megawatts of electricity, whereas South Africa, which has a third of the population, has a power generation capacity of more than 40,000 megawatts.

The government in May said it's seeking US$5.2 billion from the World Bank to boost generation capacity, expand distribution and transmission capacity and increase access to electricity in rural areas.