Nigeria has signed a US$1.3bn deal with China National Electrical Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) and Sinohydro Consortium to build the Zungeru power plant in Nigeria
The deal is expected to help in putting an end to the chronic electrical power supply shortages that has been hampering growth in Africa’s second-biggest economy.
The plant, scheduled for completion by 2018, will help add 700MW electricity to Nigeria’s current 4,600MW capacity.
The Zungeru power plant in Niger state, about 150km to federal capital of Abuja, was first conceived in 1982, but was abandoned due to lack of funds.
Now, 75 per cent of the funds needed for the project will be supplied by China’s Exim bank while the Nigerian government will foot the rest of the bill.
Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, “This project will create thousands of jobs for Nigerian engineers, technicians and artisans during the construction phase. It will also boost the economy.”
Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Deng Boqing said, “The Zungeru power plant project is significant to Nigeria people because it will contribute greatly to economic growth, meeting the growing power demand as the West African nation ushers in a new period of industrialisation and urbanisation.”
