By Akanimo Sampson
The 700 MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant is set to become operational by the end of this year. The Buhari administration is planning to concession the hydroelectric plant that is been built on Kaduna River in Niger State.
This is coming as the Egbin – Ajah transmission lines and tower construction in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria is complete. Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)says the construction of 330 kilovolts transmission lines and transmission tower is complete.
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TCN is one of the 18 companies that was unbundled from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) back in April 2004 and is a product of a merger of the transmission and system operations parts of PHCN. The company’s main job is to manage the electricity transmission network in the West African country.
TCN’s General Manager (Public Affairs), Mrs. Ndidi Mbah, says both the old and the newly build transmission lines have been energised. The old line was re-energised on Saturday, March 13 this year while the new line was energised two days later,
Mrs. Mbah explained that the new line increased the transmission capacity on that route by 600 megawatts (MW) bringing it to a total of 1,200MW.
With the new 330kV line, according to Mrs. Mbah, TCN has fulfilled the N-1 reliability criteria on that line route. Each of the lines (the old and the new) can serve as a ‘back-up’ for the other for example during maintenance. This will significantly increase transmission efficiency and reduce downtime on that line route.
“The 13.8-kilometer route receives power supply from Egbin 330kV Transmission Substation and supplies the Ajah 330kV Substation, the Lekki 330kV Substation, and the Alagbon 330kV Transmission Substation.
‘’The additional 330kV transmission line means that more bulk power will now be supplied to the substations of Eko Electricity Distribution Company taking supply from the listed transmission substations”, she said.
However, it was through the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), invited expressions of interest from qualified technical advisers to provide transaction advisory services for the award of the concession.
Interested parties are expected to submit their bids by March 31, 2021
Among other responsibilities the selected advisor will be required to carry out a due diligence review of the operating company and the activities necessary to prepare it for the subsequent concession transaction; review all relevant laws, regulations, and policies that could impact the successful concession of the enterprise.
Develop strategies that would attract interest from international investors, and detailed concession plans for the enterprise along the lines of the strategic concession criteria determined by the NCP; conduct the marketing and bidding processes necessary for maximizing private sector participation and develop post-concession exit strategy options for the enterprise.
Executed by a consortium of China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) and Sinohydro, the project is so far over 87% complete. Its main components include a 101 m-high, 1090 m-wide roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam, a clay core rockfill dam, an underground powerhouse equipped with four 175 MW units, a tailrace channel, and two switchyards on both banks of the river.
The project, which upon completion will be the second biggest hydroelectric dam in the West African Country after the 760 MW Kainji hydropower dam, is designed to generate 2630 GWh/year, equivalent to around 10% of the country’s supply requirements.
In addition to electricity generation, the facility will also provide flood control, irrigation, and water supply.
