Mambilla Hydro Project To Cost $5.72bn, Says FG

The Federal Government yesterday said it has signed $5.72 billion for the construction of the 40-year-old Mambilla Hydro project.

Giving a progress report on his third year in office as Minister of Power, Works and Housing in Abuja, Babatunde Raji Fashola, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has already approved the amount which would be raised as loan from the Chinese Government.

“They (Chinese) have the technology. They have done it before. We are now trying to negotiate the final tranche of the loan,” he said.

He explained that the Federal Government would put down 15 percent of the cost of the project as counterpart funding, promising that the project would take off this year.

“We have received Expression of Interest (EOI) from 116 Nigerian companies for the construction. They are interested in providing security, banking services, insurance of goods, transport and logistics. So, we are drawing the guidelines for the procurement. Nigerians will benefit the most. We are going to need 31,240,000 bags of cement. We are going to need 18,981,000 metric tons of aggregate gravels, stones, granite and sand to mix the cement. We are going to need 42,000 tons of steel. The 31,240,000 million bags of cement have to be transported. Imagine the number of drivers. Also, imagine the demand for tyres,” he said.

Fashola also said that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has increased power generation from 4000 MW to 7000 MW; transmission from 5000 MW to 7000 MW and distribution from 2,690 MW to 5,222MW.

“We are still delivering additional generation from Kaduna 215MW, Afam IV 240 MW, Kashimbilla 40MW, Gurara 30 MW, Dadinkowa 29 MW; Power for nine universities, 15 markets and two big hydro power plants of 700 MW in Zungeru and 3,050 MW in Mambilla,” he said, adding that the government also delivered additional transmission from 90 projects nationwide with Apo, Mayo Belwa, Damaturu, Maiduguri, Odogunyan and Ejigbo.

The Minister said that the government was in the process of delivering additional distribution through over 100 injection substations and distribution expansion programme to be funded by the Federal Government now in an advanced state of procurement.

Meanwhile, Fashola, has said that work is currently ongoing in the internal roads of 14 federal educational institutions across the country.

He said the intervention is the first phase under the 2017 budget, declaring that the government is preparing to do more under the 2018 budget.

“Our intervention on roads does not stop on inter-state highways. It has also entered 14 federal higher institutions where unattended internal roads are now receiving attention in: University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Federal University, Oye, Ekiti; University of Benin; Federal University, Lafia; Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa; Bayero University, Kano; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; University of Maiduguri; Federal University, Lokoja; Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi; Federal University, Gashua; Kaduna Polytechnic; Federal College of Education, Katsina and University College, Ibadan,” Fashola said.

Source: The Sun