Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah yesterday unveiled plans by the Federal Government to deploy under-utilised power assets to deliver incremental power to industrial centres and needy communities in the country.
According to him, the move is currently being coordinated through the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council (NIPCAC), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, towards generating additional 4.2 Gigawatts (4200 MW) of power to the national grid within the next 12-18 months.
A total of eight power projects-including Aba Integrated Power Project; Kainji rehabilitation and expansion; power transmission; captive power projects for industry; Afam IV rehabilitation; Afam V rehabilitation; Seplat gas facility and Alaoji power plant have been selected for the critical intervention.
Briefing journalists on the development, Enelamah, who is a Vice Chairman of the Council, said work is already ongoing on the Alaoji power plant to supply about 360Megawatts of unutilised power to industrial centres and people in the South-East Axis of Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi and Ihiala.
He said only 120MW out of the 480MW of power generated by the plant was regularly utilised, stressing that 360MW of power is available for centres which were willing and ready.
He said:”The end-to-end power delivery project, which is being undertaken through Public-Private Partnership ensures that generation, transmission and distribution are all aligned and simultaneously executed.
“The beauty of this project, which is a pilot, is the optimisation of resources and also that the learning from it is intended to be used to unlock up to 2GW from underutilised Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) power plants.”
A statement issued by the minister’s Strategy and Communications Adviser, Mr. Bisi Daniels, stated that Enelamah had during the Council meeting, clarified that the main purpose of the body is to deal with critical intervention at the highest level.
Meanwhile, the meeting was attended by Alhaji Aliko Dangote; a Vice Chairman of the Council, Chief Kola Jumodu; the newly elected president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mansur Ahmed.
Others present include Managing Director, National Sugar Development Council, Dr. Latif Busari; Chief Executive, GE Nigeria, Lazarus Agbanzo; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Power; Mr. Louis Edozien; Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu; Chairman, KAM Industries, Dr. Kamarudeen Yusuf and representatives of TCN and the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The further considered other matters including broadband penetration in the country towards achieving fibre connectivity in all 774 local government areas; and the establishment of a Sugar Industry Apprenticeship Centre.
Osinbajo had on May 30, 2017 inaugurated the NIPCAC which comprised government and private sector representatives to assist government in formulating policies and strategies for implementation to enhance the performance and industrialisation of the country.
