FG, donors to sign N347bn deal for 3 transmission projects

The Federal Government and key international donor agencies are finalising arrangements to sign a $956 million (about N347.362 billion) deal for three key transmission projects for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) before the end of this month.

A report obtained on the proceeding of a meeting held by TCN and officials of the of the donor agencies yesterday indicates that the European Union (EU), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the AFD - French Development Agency - are expected to endorse the projects.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on its part this month will give approval for the execution of the World Bank funded projects.

A breakdown of the report mentioned the project to be the Nigeria Electricity Transmission Access Project (NETAP) valued at $486m and financed by the World Bank.

The $200m Lagos/Ogun Transmission Project is the second on the list and is being financed by JICA while the Northern Corridor Transmission Project (NORTHCOR) has funding of $245m and 25 million (Euros) by AFD and the EU.

The Managing Director of TCN, Mr Usman Gur Mohammed, who confirmed the content of the report to this reporter said the company did the projects document in a transparent manner so it could attract foreign funding.

He said the NORTHCOR project will have two 330kV double circuit transmission lines from Kainji to Kano, through Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto and Katsina to boost bulk electricity evacuation capacity of TCN in the axis.

With such projects coming to reality, Mr Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) called for the activation of the regional electricity market to boost the product’s trading between Nigeria and other countries.

Mohammed said Nigeria’s electricity is still the cheapest in the region in terms of per kilowatt hour (kwh) and that it was a destination for other countries for buying electricity to attract more foreign exchange.