... Projects 20000mw By 2021
INNOCENT OWEH ABUJA
Moves to boost power generation capacity in the country which currently stood at 8,100megawatts has seen the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) netting about $1.6billion from foreign donors.
With the new grant management of TCN hopes to embark on transmission, rehabilitation and expansion Programme that would see its delivery capacity shore up to at least 20,000 megawatts by 2021.
Managing Director of the agency, Usman Gur Mohammed, gave the disclosure in Abuja on Monday, during an interactive session with State House correspondents.
He said TCN’s entrenched culture of transparency and project implementation capacity under the new administration attracted the funds.
He reeled out some of the projects sponsored by donor agencies, to include the procurement process of the Abuja Ring Scheme which has reached an advanced stage.
He explained that two contracts for the lines have been signed and the remaining lots for substation projects have been evaluated and submitted to AFD for No Objection.
According to him, it will fund five new substations and a new 330 KV transmission line to Abuja through Lafia, stressing that the line is entirely a green field project.
Mohammed listed the five notable projects to include: Abuja transmission ring scheme which is financed by the French Development Agency and attracted $170 million; the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Access Project (NETAP), a $486 million project financed by the World Bank; Lagos- Ogun Transmission Project, costing $200 million financed by Japanese International Agency (JICA); Northern Corridor Transmission Project to be financed by French Development Agency and European Union at $245 and €25 million respectively and Nigeria Transmission Expansion project to be financed by the African Development Bank at the cost of $410 million.
He said the NETAP started with advanced procurement in 2017 and was approved by the board of the World Bank in February 2018.
According to him, the procurement of the project has reached advance stage but is yet to become effective as it is still awaiting approval and legal action of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice.
Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) The project according to him is a brown field geared toward upgrading most of the transmission substations to N-1 redundancy criteria.
He said the Lagos-Ogun Project, was inherited from past management of TCN and has been completely scoped, designed, with some major aspects already completed.
He equally explained that the project was being delayed due to issues of compensation. Some of it included the construction of five substations and associated 330KV and 132 KV transmission lines in Ogun state and 132 KV substation in Badagry in Lagos state.
Appraisal of the Northern Corridor project was completed on September 28, 2018 and has been approved by the board of AFD and EU recently, Mohammed stated.
However, the project will include building two new 330KV double circuit transmission lines; Kainji-Birnin Kebbi-Sokoto and Kastina-Daura-Gwiwa-Jogana-Kura line.
He said it also include the reconstruction of one out of the two old Shiroro-Kaduna 330KV single line into a quad line, and build four 330KV substations in Sokoto, Jogana and Bauchi.
While the AfDB financed NTE project will involve the reconstruction of the Alaoji-Owerri-Ontisha 330 SC line and the Ughelli-Benin 330KV line into quad lines as well as the construction of 330KV quad line between Kaduna to Kano and fund several 132KV transmission lines in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
According to him, there has been significant improvement in electricity supply to the citizens for which the federal government deserved commendation but noted that the distribution companies should increase their investment in infrastructure without which the results of the huge investment in generation and transmission will make no impact.
