The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and power distribution companies (Discos), is on track to complete 53 power projects valued at N122 billion by May next year.
These projects, currently under construction across Nigeria, aim to enhance the country’s power infrastructure and contribute over 1,000 megawatts to TCN’s wheeling capacity.
During a recent tour of three project sites in Lagos, including Ojo, Isolo, and Oworonshoki Transmission stations, TCN’s Programme Coordinator for the projects, Mathew Ajibade, assured that the projects were progressing well and would be completed as scheduled. He emphasized that despite challenges, the Project Management Office (PMO) at TCN headquarters, in collaboration with TCN field engineers and Disco’s technical team, is committed to ensuring successful implementation.
Ajibade refuted speculations that the projects had been abandoned, emphasizing that ongoing work was a testament to the commitment to deliver the projects by the stipulated time in May 2024.
Tumba Tijani, Assistant Director/Head Infrastructure Finance Office at CBN, explained that the CBN had released a loan at a 9% interest rate for the project in August of the previous year. The funding, part of the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility-3, aims to address transmission/distribution interface bottlenecks, improve end-user supply, and unlock unused generation capacity in the country.
Tijani noted that N85.43 billion had been disbursed into the Advance Payment Guarantee account of the 53 contractors involved in executing the projects. The projects involve delivering power transformers, re-conductoring existing transmission lines, upgrading existing substations, and constructing new line bays, among other critical components.
