According to CNN, the government of Nigeria has announced the award of a $5.8 billion contract to build what will be the largest power plant in the country.
The
3,050-megawatt Mambila hydroelectric power project in the state of Taraba will
be delivered by a consortium of Chinese state-owned construction firms.
The
megaproject will feature four dams between 50 and 150 meters tall, and take six
years to complete, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola,
told reporters in Abuja.
The Chinese
Export-Import Bank will finance 85% of the development, with the Nigerian
government contributing 15%.
Minister
Fashola claimed the project will deliver far-reaching benefits.
"(Mambila)
will have a transformational effect on all of Nigeria's socio-economic
development," he said through a government spokesman,
"It will have considerable positive impact on electricity supply
nationwide, productivity, employment, tourism, technology transfer, rural
development, irrigation, agriculture and food production."
False starts
The Mambila
hydropower plant has been in development for over 30 years, but previous
administrations have made little progress.
In 2007, the
Nigerian government awarded a $1.4 billion contract to two Chinese construction
firms for a 2,600-megawatt plant, but the agreement broke down soon after.
Attempts
were made to revive the deal without success. But the deadlock was broken by
conversations between the presidents of China and Nigeria in 2016, according to
the spokesman of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
"The
major breakthrough in the execution of this project was achieved when President
Muhammadu Buhari initiated discussions at the level of the President of the
Peoples Republic of China in the course of his State Visit (in 2016)," wrote government official Garba Shehu.
The meeting
resulted in the creation of a consortium of Chinese companies to deliver the
project, according to Shehu, and an agreement that the Chinese government would
commit finance to it.
Power shortage
Despite
being one of the largest economies in Africa, over 40% of Nigerians live
without access to electricity, according to World Bank figures.
Hydropower,
one of the cleanest and cheapest forms of power, is a key target for
development as Nigeria is currently exploiting just a fraction of its potential
resources.
The country
is also seeking to shift away from oil dependency, after plummeting oil prices
triggered a recession.
The clear
need for the Mambila project could make it more likely to succeed, some
analysts believe.
"The
prospects of project implementation starting are perhaps stronger than in
previous decades," says Elizabeth Donnelly, deputy head of the Africa
Programme at UK think tank Chatham House. "Nigeria continues, albeit
slowly, with its complex power sector reform and badly needs to generate - and
more importantly distribute - more power for its 180 million people."
"Hydroelectricity
is an important part of this mix, particularly for rural electrification."
No comments: