The 700-kilovolt “super grid” which will be completed within four years, will be funded by the government, private investors and international finance and development agencies.
It is aimed at shoring up power generation capacity to 7,000 megawatts by April 2011.
The project was endorsed by Jonathan after a meeting with the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ima Niboro, special adviser on media and publicity to the President, said in a statement that “$3.5 billion power project is expected to fulfill Nigeria's need to transmit increasing amounts of power across vast distances which the existing 330/132KV grid cannot meet”.
“The super grid, which will run along the same route as the existing 330/132KV grid, will also address Nigeria's future energy challenges including transition to more sustainable energy sources, reduction of power loss per transmitted megawatt, and improving power voltage profiles across the country,” according to Niboro.
Blackouts are regular occurrences in Sub-Saharan Africa's second largest economy of more than 140 million people, where current electricity demand more than doubles supply.
An analyst says that the President's move will bring the nation closer to meeting its power needs.
“This is one of the moves that will bring the nation closer to meeting its power needs,” the analyst said.
Niboro argued that “without the super grid, the quantum of power lost in transmission will continue to increase as more power progressively becomes available for evacuation from new and rehabilitated generating stations. Periodic systemic failures will also become more frequent”.
Quoting the Presidential Task Force on Power, Niboro said: “Nigeria's available generation capacity will rise to 6,939 megawatts by April next year, and 14,019 megawatts by December 2013.
In another development, President Jonathan will, on Thursday, August 26, 2010, present a new roadmap for the reformation of Nigeria's power sector to the country's private sector”.
According to him: “President Jonathan will seize the opportunity of the event in Lagos to acquaint members of the private sector with fresh investment opportunities inherent in the power sector reform programme and invite greater private sector support for the programme”.
525 billion naira? And yet we are all hungry?? This is Nigeria and i truly believe this money is surely for the forth-coming elections. God save us in this country!!
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