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Nigeria:
Mambilla Hydropower Project back on the cards: Fashola - SweetCrudeReports
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Hopes that the long
delayed construction of the 3,050MW Mambilla hydropower project in Taraba State
will resume soon were raised yesterday when a ‘No Objection’ certificate from
the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) landed on the desk of Minister of Power,
Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Daily
Trust report continues:
The
minister, who granted an exclusive interview to Daily Trust yesterday, said
with the 'No Objection' certificate’s arrival, the ministry was ready to go
forward and seek the Federal Executive Council’s [FEC] approval for the
contract to be awarded.
Fashola
said, “It is good you mentioned Mambilla. The ‘No Objection’ for Mambilla
just came into my office today [Monday]. It is still on my desk. These are all
of the bureaucratic processes of getting things done in government.” Displaying
the document he said, “This is the ‘No Objection’ for Mambilla. Now we can go
to FEC, get approval and award the contract. This is what it takes. For the
cost, I won’t tell you until FEC approves it. The Permanent Secretary is
working on the memo and I am hoping that I can sign it tonight
[yesterday].”
It
will be recalled that in June last year, the Power Ministry said government
agreed to use two Chinese firms, Gezhouba Construction Group Corporation (CGGC)
and Sinohydro Corporation for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction
[EPC] contract of the project, said to be the largest yet in West Africa. A
director in the ministry said the project cost was reviewed as “The Bureau of
Public Procurement (BPP) has valued the project at US$5.732 billion (about ₦1.140trn).”
He said the project’s contract is for a period of 63 months after it is flagged
off, including 12 months for a Defect Liability Period (test running) before it
is handed over.
On
funding for the mega project, Daily Trust gathered that 85% of the funding is
ready with the China Export Import (EXIM) Bank and would be disbursed once the
Federal Government provides its counterpart funding. However, government is
said to be eyeing the 15% counterpart funding from proceeds of the sale of the
ten National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs).
Fashola
also lamented the cut in the Power, Works and Housing Ministry’s 2017 budget
proposal by the National Assembly. He listed several major projects including
the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano-Maiduguri and other uncompleted
highway projects for which the National Assembly slashed the ministry’s
requests by ten to ₦21 billion each. He said with those cuts, the projects are
bound to suffer more delays and cannot be completed soon.
The
minister confirmed that plans are afoot to rebuild toll gates on federal
highways. He listed many economic and security benefits of the toll gates apart
from revenue generation. Fashola however said no toll gates will be erected on
any federal highway until its construction is completed.
Landslide May
Stall Mambilla Hydro-Power Project
August
30, 2016
Economic
Confidential reports that the over US$3.2billion Mambilla Hydro-power project
with the capacity to generate 3050 megawatts(MW) is being threatened by several
factors including massive landslide and bad roads.
The
Mambilla hydro-electric power project in Taraba State was initiated in 1982 to
serve as the largest single hydro-power station in Nigeria. The contract was
awarded on May 28, 2007 at the sum of US$3.2 billion to China Gezhouba Group
Company Limited (CGGC) and another Chinese consortium, Sinohydro.
The
current six biggest thermal stations in the country have a total capacity of
3030MW which is still far less than Mambilla’s 3,050MW.
The
Economic Confidential gathered that the contract sum has increased to about US$6billion
due to inflationary trends as Chinese Firms are expected to provide 70% of the
sum while 30% would be provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Due to
various factors the project was suspended during the previous administrations.
In
an effort to ensure the speedy completion of the project, President Muhammadu
Buhari was in China this year to seek the assistance of Chinese government, the
major financier for the power-station.
Recently
some foreign engineers in company of government officials on an inspection
visit to Taraba State refused to proceed further to Barup, the project site due
to bad roads damaged by massive landslide. Other access roads are bushy that
only bikes could ply while the rivers have no functional bridges.
All
entreaties by officials and members of the local community were not heeded by
the foreigners who insisted that they would not continue the journey on
dangerous paths.
A
source at the Federal Ministry of Work Power and Housing told the Economic
Confidential that the Minister, Raji Fashola has shown keen interest in
ensuring the completion of the project because of its potential to add 3000MW
to the grid through Hydro-Electric project rather than expensive gas plants.
The
officer added that “the Ministry is working towards assessing the condition of
the roads for immediate solutions. We are all aware that the project would
provide employment opportunities and is expected to boost national economic
growth.”
Also
concerned about the development, former President Olusegun Obasanjo urged
President Buhari to immediately complete the Hydro Power Project to increase
the energy potentials of Nigeria and pave way for more development.
Obasanjo
who was speaking with news men in Jalingo, Taraba State said that the project
would be of great benefit to the region and to Nigeria and as such must be
quickly completed. He added that the cost of completing the project was rising
by the day stressing that it would be better to complete it now than wait for
when it would be more expensive.
A
community leader and Chairman of Mambilla Plateau Legacies Forum (MPLF), Mallam
Ibrahim Ismail Sadiq appealed to the Federal and state governments to take urgent
measures at addressing the problems of the roads and open up the potentials of
the plateau.
He
said that the surrounding communities that are borders to Cameroon Republic are
on the verge of being cut off from Nigeria as a result of the landslide that
occurred on the only road linking Mambilla Plateau with Taraba state and
Nigeria as a nation.
He
said that: “Many foreign investors are reluctant to ply the dangerous roads
that are dilapidated by landslides while the rivers could not be accessed by
vehicle due to lack of functional bridges.
“Apart
from the potential to generate power-supply, Mambilla Plateau offers attractive
settings worth of massive investments than anywhere in Nigeria because of its
unique physical and conducive climatic conditions for human settlement and
cattle breeding.”
The
Mambilla Plateau is a high grassland with an average elevation of 2419m
(5249ft) above sea level, making it the highest Plateau in Nigeria which
occupies an area 9389km§.
It has cattle ranches, tea plantation and rolling glassy hills. It is a home to some rare species of birds and animals. The highland is also home to Nigeria and west Africa’s only highland tea plantation and production.
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