Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr Sale Mamman, stated that the West African Power Pool (WAPP) sub-regional interconnection project, a 330 kV North Core Power Project, would costs stakeholders $568 million to complete.
The Minister disclosed this at the first Joint Ministerial Steering Committee Meeting (JMSC) in Abuja on Thursday, citing that the governments of Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso are developing the sub-regional interconnection project.
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What the Minister said
“The operation and maintenance of the entire infrastructure shall be handed over to the utility companies of the participating countries.
This has already been assented to by the ECOWAS Heads of States and Government in their approval in December 2018 of the ECOWAS Master Plan for Development of Regional Generation and Transmission Infrastructure, 2019-2033.
The North-Core Project involves the construction of approximately 875 Kilometers (KM) of 330 Kilo Volt (kV) and 24 KM 225 kV transmission lines from Nigeria to Burkina Faso, through Niger and Benin with associated substations.
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The project will also involve the electrification of rural communities located within a 5 km radius on both sides of the line and the implementation of several environmental and social mitigation measures.
These include, among others, the implementation of Resettlement Action Plans to provide compensation for persons and communities affected by the project,” Mr Sale Mamman said.
He also revealed that the project would be financed by the African Development Bank (AFDB), Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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He added that the launch of the North-Core Project in 2019 was one of the key solutions for coping with large electricity supply-demand imbalance within the ECOWAS region, citing that the WAPP-North- Core Regional Interconnector would be a game-changer that could shape the energy landscape of the sub-region through effective and efficient power trade.
Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr Siengu Ki, said the project was designed by the energy authorities of Nigeria, Togo, Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso and consists of the construction of 880 Km of 330 kV transmission lines from Birnin Kebbi to Ouagadougou via Zabori and Niamey and from Zabori to Malanville, with five associated processing stations to enable and strengthen electricity exchanges between the countries concerned.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported last year that acting Managing Director of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz, was appointed the new Chairman of the Executive Board of West African Power Pool (WAPP). Abdulaziz was nominated by the former Managing Director of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Joe Makoju, who is an honorary member of WAPP.
