Nigerian govt earmarks $1.61bn for 24-hour power supply, targets 20,000MW by 2022

Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Usman Gur, has said that the Nigerian government in collaboration with international donor agencies have set aside over 1.61 billion dollars to ensure constant power supply in the country.

Gur made this disclosure on Sunday in Kano while briefing newsmen at the Kumbotso power sub-station.

He said the project would be carried out under the Transmission Rehabilitation Expansion Programme, adding that they would be rehabilitating and expanding to degree 20, 000 Mega Watts by 2022 across the country.

He stated that the federal government already earmarked about N32 billion to compensate Nigerians whose lands, houses and farms could be affected by the Right-Of-Way to create Power Lines for the execution of the project.

“The total amount that we are going to pay for compensation across the country is about N32 billion. And the total project cost is 1.61 billion dollars. The project will be supported by various international donors.

READ ALSO: Nigeria secures another $3 billion World Bank loan

“The compensation for right-of-way from Kumbotso sub-station to Rimi Zagara will cost about N3 billion. We have not completely validated it. The total cost for compensation across the country being provided by the Federal Government,” he said.

Gur, who is also the chairman of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Committee Executive Board stated that he led the TCN team Kano to validate and look at the route that ran from the Kumbotso Transmission sub-station to Rimi Zakara.

“You know we are going to connect Rimi Zakara to this sub-station (Kumbotso).

“Rimi Zakara is the place we are putting another 330 KV Sub-station, just like this one in Kumbotso.

“The mistake that happened in the past is that we normally award contract for line without doing the study. You know the study will establish who are the people under the right-of-way; and who are those people that are going to be affected by the lines.

“So, we are supposed to have come up with those people and pay them their compensation.

“Unfortunately, this contract was awarded many years, even before I came. It is not only this one, many of them are like that. They awarded the contracts without the payment of compensation.

“That is why now, we are trying to pay the compensation, we are validating it, but we also need to tell people that this takes time, because right now, we have over 1000 people who need to be compensated within Kano alone.

“That is why I am here, I will go through the routes and see exactly what are in the right-of-way. We are actually collaborating with Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje because some people who have land on the right-of-way are seeking for relocation.

“We are going to request to the governor to relocate them and give them land in some other places so that we can build the line,” he said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now