FG Signs MoU On 1,000MW Power Plant In Katsina

The Federal Government has signed
a Memorandum of Understanding,
MoU, for the construction of a 1,000
megawatts (MW) power plant in
Katsina State with Strancton
Limited.
electricity-NIGERIA

It also signed another agreement
with Greenville Oil and Gas Limited
for the supply of Liquified Natural
Gas (LNG) to the Kaduna Power
Plant.

The Minister of Power, Professor
Chinedu Nebo, who signed the two
separate MoUs on behalf of
Government in Abuja, said,
"because of the importance of these
two MoUs to Mr. President's
transformation agenda, these flag
ships got mentioned in my
presentation at the 2014 Ministerial
Platform."

He said the proposed power project
is highly innovative as its promoter,
Strancton, working with Katsina
State will utilise gas from Niger
Republic to fire its proposed plant.
He said such innovative project is a
call for us to take full advantage of
gas reserves, by building
infrastructure for its utilisation, as
he observed that gas alone can
assist the country's economic
development immensely even
without oil.

Nebo promised to support the
project as it is another way to
stabilise the nation's grid system by
making it robust and active, as he
noted that the promoters have
brought to fore new ideas of how to
provide cheaper fueling, as it has
been established that "you don't
need to locate a power plant next
door to where you have gas hence, it
is possible to use liquified natural
gas".

The Minister challenged other states
to emulate the Katsina State
initiative, by keying into Mr.
President's privatisation agenda in
the power sector and investing in
the sector in partnership with the
private sector.

Earlier, the Minister of State, Mr.
Mohammed Wakil in his comment
said the signing of the MoUs is a
proof that the efforts of the
government in wooing investors are
yielding positive results.

He said he is excited that the
realisation of the project will bring
Nigeria nearer to the target of
20,000MW by 2020 as contained in
the vision 20:2020 document.

He observed that the proposed
project that has been conceived on
gas from Niger Republic will assist
in bridging the gap of non-
availability of gas, adding that "the
planned supply of LNG to Kaduna
Plant will give us a good footing".

Wakil stressed that the local content
component of the two MoUs is
commendable, as it would ensure
that Nigerian youths take their
rightful positions in the future.

Speaking on behalf of the two
companies, Mr. Edozie Njoku, CEO of
Strancton Limited said the plant is
the first gas pipeline-fed electricity
project in Northern Nigeria between
Katsina State Government and
Consortium of General Electric,
Vellbridge Oil, Gas and Natural
Resources Limited and other private
partners.
Posted By David Aniemeka