[ 2016-11-04 ]

Nigeria to add more than 500 megawatts to national grid
Nigeria has signed agreements to add more than 500
megawatts of capacity to its national grid, the
office of the vice president said on Thursday.

Africa’s most populous nation produces less than
4,000 megawatts (MW) but requires around 10 times
that amount to guarantee power for its 180 million
inhabitants.

Chronic power shortages have hindered the
country’s development for decades and are one of
the biggest constraints on investment and growth
in Africa’s largest economy, which is in
recession for the first time in more than 20
years.

The vice president’s office said a number of
agreements had been signed including ones with the
World Bank and Niger Delta Power Holding Company
(NDPHC).

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the signing
ceremony described the agreements as significant,
enabling the consistent additional generation of
more than 500 MW of electricity to the national
grid,” said his spokesman Laolu Akande.

The vice president said the agreements would open
up new opportunities for investments in
Nigeria’s gas and power sectors.

He suggested that the West African country could
potentially attract investment into the power
sector.

Osinbajo’s office said Nigerian gas supplier
Seven Energy was investing around $500 million in
the construction of a gas processing facility at
the Uquo Field in the southern state of Akwa
Ibom.

And a Partial Risk Guarantee between the World
Bank and NDPHC was signed to secure the supply of
some 130 million cubic feet per day of gas to a
power plant in the southern city of Calabar by
Seven Energy.

The agreement covers private debt in the event of
a government’s failure to meet specific
obligations to a project.

Source - CNBC Africa

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