Over 200 investors have commenced moves to acquire the 10 National Independent Power Plants to be privatised by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.

Speaking during the NIPP Privatisation Roadshow in Lagos on Tuesday, Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State, who chaired the occasion, said over 200 investors had expressed interest in the 10 gas-fired power plants with a combined design capacity in excess of 5,453 megawatts.

According to him, 53 per cent of the NDPHC plants is
owned by states and the local governments, while the
Federal Government owns the remaining 47 per cent.
While assuring of a transparent privatisation process,
Suswan, who is a member of the NDPHC Board of
Directors, said, "Over 200 entrepreneurs have expressed
their interests. The roadshow is just to show the potential
investors that we are serious. We are starting from Lagos,
followed by London, United States and Hong Kong.

"We want to encourage the private sector in Nigeria and
the banks that this is the way they should go."
According to him, expression of interest will end on July
19, 2013.

The governor encouraged investors present at the
roadshow to take advantage of the EOI window before it
closed.

The power plants slated for privatisation include: Omotoso, with capacity to generate 450MW; Sapele, 450MW;Geregu, 434MW; Olorunsogo, 750MW; and Ihovbor, 450MW.

Others are Gbarain, 225MW; Alaoji, 450MW; Calabar,
561MW; Egbema, 338MW and Omoku, 225MW.
When fully operational, the Minster of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the plants would double the country's capacity to generate electricity.

He said, "The power sector will thrive in the hands of the
private sector and drive the Nigerian economy. We will
give maximum support to investors to take over the
sector.

"The entire process of privatisation of the power sector is
irreversible and what happened in the telecoms sector is
about to repeat itself in the power sector. We expect that
the achievement in the power sector will dwarf the
telecoms sector. We expect this to revive our economy and revive our SMEs, which are currently moribund."

Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman, Presidential
Task Force on Power, Mr. Dagogo Jack, promised that the
government would provide incentives for power investors
to encourage them.

"This project is consistent with government's policy to
push the plants to the private sector, which can manage it better. Government will create incentives for investors in the power sector," he said.

Should they emerge the preferred bidders, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, advised the potential investors gathered at the roadshow to immediately contact the governors of the states where the plants were located to develop a security master plan for their operation.

Emphasizing that most of the power plants are located in
the Niger Delta, Uduaghan assured investors that the area was now safe for investment.

Source:mobile.punchng.com/output.php?link=http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/200-investors-jostle-for-10-ndphc-power-plants/