$570 M power transmission line to link four west African countries
The governments of Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and the Niger Republic will execute a $570 M transmission line across the four countries.
Image for illustration purposes
West Africa: The governments of Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso and the Niger Republic will execute a $570 M transmission line across the four countries.
The acting MD of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and chairman of the executive board of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), Sule Abdulaziz, disclosed that unused electricity within the country will be taken to the participating countries through the Northcore Power Transmission Line.
The TCN executive noted that concerns raised over the country selling its generated power to other countries when it does not have enough does not arise, noting that unutilised power generated daily will be exported to avoid waste.
According to him, the project takes approximately two years to complete, with funding from international financial organisations in collaboration with the participating countries, which will be disbursed after the contract signing ceremony.
“The power we will be selling is the power that is not needed in Nigeria. These generators that are going to supply power to this transmission line are going to generate that power specifically for this project. So, it is unutilised power,” he said.
Abdulaziz noted that Nigeria is expecting new generators to participate in the energy export for the 875 km 330 kV transmission line from Nigeria through the three other countries, adding that jobs will be created while Nigeria will earn foreign exchange.
Abdulaziz added that the project, which is funded by the World Bank, French Development Council and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has recorded progress and that the energy ministers will be addressing security issues for the project.
In his comments, the Secretary-General of WAPP, Appolinaire Ki said that when the facility becomes operational, there will be continuous feedstock, assuring that the funding agreement is ready as participating countries await the disbursement. He also noted that the cost is approximately $570 M and the part of the investment in each country is funded by the respective country who are supported by the donors. The WAPP executive also said that security was a major issue in the execution of the project, explaining that the Power Pool body was discussing ways of incorporating the security agencies to mitigate threats that may be posed by criminals.
Source: ESI Africa