The Federal Government has announced that the Agbara Industrial Hub is now connected to the national grid, marking a significant improvement in the country’s power infrastructure for manufacturers and business owners.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, made this declaration during the 2024 Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) summit on Thursday.
Uzoka-Anite said the connection of the industrial hub to the grid is part of the federal government’s ongoing Light Up project to provide sustainable energy to the manufacturing industry.
The Minister stated that the project involves connecting all industrial hubs, such as the Tokarawa Industrial Hub in Kano and the Nnewi Hub in Anambra, to affordable energy, whether from the national grid or alternative gas sources.
According to her, this will reduce the cost of energy in these key areas by about 60%, leading to a reduction in goods and services in the country.
“We’ve commenced the initial process of mapping out major industrial clusters across the country to provide our local manufacturers with targeted interventions, enhancing their vibrancy and competitiveness.
“Currently, a lot of our industrial clusters are still not connected to efficient and affordable power supply. We flagged off the Light Up campaign. We started with the Agbara industrial hub which is now connected to the national grid.
“I also noted some other industrial hubs like Mowe and the rest of them. The Tokarawa market in Kano, the Nnewi industrial cluster in Anambra, we are making arrangements to connect them both to the national grid and to gas where this is no gas available,” she said.
Backstory
In 2023, the federal government assured manufacturers and investors of adequate power supply across the country, especially in industrial clusters.
The vice president, Kasim Shettima, said he aimed to establish bilateral electricity sales directly to end-users at the Agbara industrial cluster within the next six months, as part of the Light Up energy project.
He said the initiative will be facilitated through power generated by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) power plants.
Prior to this initiative, none of the businesses operating within the Agbara industrial cluster consumed energy from the national grid.
What you should know
The Industrial Clusters Power Project is part of the federal government’s ongoing initiative to light up industrial clusters across the country.
The programme which began in October 2023 is headed by the Vice President of Nigeria, Kasim Shettima.
Shettima noted that the scheme is part of President Tinubu’s commitment to revamp Nigeria’s Infrastructure framework and provide the much-needed drive to empower Nigerians and strengthen the nation’s economic policies.
