FG partners North South Power Company on hydro power

The Federal Government is partnering the North South Power Company Ltd., in the development of existing dams for power generation.

The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu said this when board members of the company led by their chairman paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Abuja.

Adamu said the partnership was a good development, saying it had demonstrated that Nigeria possess competent hands in handling project hitherto left to foreigners.

“The ministry is thinking toward that direction of partnership with the private sector in the development of the new and existing infrastructure in the sector for the small hydro power schemes,’’ he said.

The minister added that the ministry in partnership with the Ministry of Power had set up a steering committee on the concession of small hydro power schemes for adequate power generation.

According to him, the committee will come up with regulations and information that would attract would-be investors into the sector.

The Chairman of the company, Ibrahim Aliyu said the partnership would be targeted toward building of powerhouses and installing electro-mechanical components to generate power from some of the dams.

He said 30 megawatt Gurara 1 Hydropower plant in Kaduna, 10mw Tiga dam Hydro Power plant in Kano, 10mw Oyan dam Hydro Power plant in Ogun, have been identified to be used in power generation.

Others are the 8mw Challawa dam Hydro Power plant in Kano and 6mw Ikere dam Hydro Power plant in Oyo state.

Aliyu said that the company would raise money to explore viable opportunities in those identified areas without calling on government for financing.

He added that the ministry and the company would jointly develop the projects and share revenues accruing from the sales of electricity in the proportion of each party’s contribution.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the North South Power company manages the Shiroro Hydro-Power Plant in Niger State.