News$5.792 Billion Mambilla Power Project Set For Take-Off

$5.792 Billion Mambilla Power Project Set For Take-Off

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September 28, (THEWILL) – The $5.792 billion Mambila Hydro-Electric Power Project is set for take-off following the resolution of the project’s financial and legal huddles.

The indication followed the submission of a report by the financial sub-committee of the Mambila Hydro-Electric Power Projects (HEPP).

On Monday, the Consultant to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan on the HEPP, Local Content, Muhammad Mustapha, presented the report to the Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Teslim Folarin.

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After receiving the report, Senator Folarin said the contractors handling the project are expected to commence work at the site before the end of 2021.

The Federal Executive Council had on August 30, 2017, approved the $5.792 billion for the construction of 3050MW.

According to Folarin, the project was awarded to Chinese contractors JV (CGGC-SHC-CGCC), and was to be sited in Gembu, Taraba. However, legal encumbrances stalled its take-off.

He noted that the challenges that arose in the course of the project’s execution caused the Presidential Committee on Northeast Development, now the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC), to review the initial plan of the Technical Working Group.

He said the NEDC came up with a working document wherein the work of the TWG was reshaped and streamlined for effective and seamless implementation of the project.

“Thereafter, the reviewed report was forwarded to the National Assembly for further legislative action.

“Consequently, the National Assembly along with the Technical Working Group, constituted the Finance Sub-Committee under the Chairmanship of the Executive Director, NEXIM (Nigerian Export and Import) Bank.

“The sub-committee was inaugurated earlier this year by the Senate Committee on Local Content and it was mandated to report back to the Committee within six weeks”, he said.

He said the subcommittee was mandated to work out modalities that would facilitate the financial requirement of the local content aspect of the project, which was estimated at $1.7billion, representing 30 percent of the approved contract.

“The Nigerian Export and Import Bank was mandated to play the lead role in the sub-committee, while the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority was to serve as the secretariat of the panel.

“I have no doubt in my mind that all these issues, among others, are succinctly addressed in the report and I believe that at the end, we shall have a document that will provide a way forward on the project”, he said.

Folarin told newsmen that the major legal encumbrances to the prpject’s implementation has been resolved.

He said, “We have made some progress and breakthroughs, but we are yet to forward the report to the leadership of the Senate.

“The federal government was mandated to pay to the contractors – Sunrise – the sum of $200million and if we don’t pay within a stipulated time, then we have accrued interest.

“As far as the contractors are concerned, they said their money is now $400million because of the accumulated interests.”

In his presentation, the Consultant, Muhammad Mustapha who noted that the finance sub-committee was an offshoot of the North East Development Commission (NEDC), said, “Under this, four committees were formed to develop the framework for the local content.”

According to Mustapha, the project was signed in line with the Presidential Executive Order 5, which stipulated that a minimum of 30 percent must be local content for every capital infrastructure project.

He said, “This came about 1.7 billion dollars as the local content potential which is a very strategic focus for the development of the country.”

Mustapha noted that in line with this strategic coordination, there is a need for an interface between the major stakeholders, which consists of the National Assembly’s approval for the loan and the Ministry of Finance to negotiate the loan.

He added that the project “is building a new political momentum toward implementation”.

In her remarks, the Liaison officer and Administrator for Hypertech, Mrs Maimuna Muhammed said, “We have a breakthrough concerning all the litigations about the project, all the delays we had before everything has been sorted out.

“Now we are ready to kick start the project. The next programme we are going to have is business roundtable. After that, we move to site.”

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