The International Finance Corporation, a
subsidiary of the World Bank, and cement
manufacturing giant, Lafarge Nigeria Limited,
have signed a financing deal for the construction
of a 260-megawatts power plant in Ewekoro,
Ogun State.
The Deputy Director/Head of Media, Ministry of
Power, Mr. Timothy Oyedeji, disclosed this in a
statement made available to our correspondent in
Abuja on Thursday.
While the IFC is the lead arranger for the
financing, the Finland-based Wartsila-
Development and Financial Services Company is
part of the Lafarge consortium that has concluded
arrangements for the construction of the power
plant.
Signing the agreement for the plant in Abuja, the
Minister of State for Power, Mr. Muhammad
Wakil, described the event as a milestone that
underscored the need to fast-track the nation’s
ongoing privatisation exercise, which has been
described as the biggest in the world.
He said the signing of the agreement would not
have been possible but for the doggedness of
President Goodluck Jonathan in ensuring that
nothing derailed the power sector reform.
Wakil said Jonathan had also given a marching
order to all cabinet members to be ambassadors
in attracting foreign investors to the country.
This, he said, was borne out of the realisation
that a lot of resources would be required in the
power sector’s new direction, which is private
sector driven.
The minister used the opportunity to call on
genuine investors to take advantage of the
conducive environment in the country as
expressed in adequate legislative framework,
market depth and political will, adding that
potential investors were assured of higher yields
on their investment.
Speaking on behalf of the consortium, the Chief
Executive Officer, Lafarge, Nigeria and Benin, Mr.
Guillaume Roux, gave an assurance that the
World Bank energy business plan was supportive
of the Nigerian power sector because of the
visible achievements so far recorded in the
ongoing privatisation exercise.
He said the group was determined to leverage on
all resources that would be required to support
the sector, adding that the project would be
realised in record time.
Roux said that on completion of the project, it
would contribute to increase the nation’s power
generation capacity and bring about a substantial
leap to the supply end of the electricity value
chain in Nigeria.
He said Lafarge had been in the forefront of
embedded power generation as the company had
in the recent past expressed its readiness to put
on the national grid excess power produced from
its cement plant.
It is expected that of the 260MW to be produced
from the joint venture, at least 220MW would be
available to the national grid.
http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/lafarge-world-bank-sign-deal-for-260mw-power-plant-2/