US firm to build 400mw electricity plant in Bayelsa

An American consortium, Team Africa, has unveiled investment plans which would add about 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid from a power plant to be constructed in Bayelsa in the next 14 months.

Leader of the American investors’ delegation, Mr. Roy Yeferez, who disclosed this at the weekend during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Power, also noted that the investment, which is expected to boost the nation’s power supply, was catalysed by the recent visit of the Minister of State, Power, Hon. Mohammed Wakil, to the United States.

He said during the recent Obama’s Power Africa Initiative summit, Wakil had convinced the potential investors that Nigeria is the best investment destination in Africa, adding that his team had already identified a site in Bayelsa State where a plant will be built to generate 400mw electricity in the next 14 months.

Earlier, the Minister of State Power, Mohammed Wakil, highlighted four key reasons why Nigeria has an investment edge to include the country’s huge population of 170 million that translates to big purchasing power, a legal environment that encourages and protects investment and government’s demonstrated political will to support investments in the sector.

“American investors have shown rare courage to come and see things for themselves, the action so far demonstrated is only a response to government’s matching order to woo would-be investors any time we have the opportunity to fast track investment activities in the sector,” Wakil said.