By Chijioke Ohuocha

LAGOS, June 17 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Geometric Power will build a 1,080 megawatt power plant jointly with General Electric , with the first phase of the project generating 500 MW expected to be completed in 2019 at a cost of $800 million.


Geometric Power CEO, Bart Nnaji said the firm had also appointed London-based Standard Chartered Bank as financial advisers for the first phase of the plant.

Africa's biggest economy broke up its monopoly on power generation and distribution by privatising the sector two years ago, hoping to attract foreign investors, but the amount of power produced has stagnated at around half total capacity.

"We have a 1,080 megawatt project ... (in partnership) with General Electric. The power goes to the national grid. What we are doing is to build up power projects in this way," Nnaji, a former Nigerian minister of power, told Reuters late on Tuesday on the sidelines of a power conference in Lagos.

Nnaji said the firm was in discussions with some Chinese, European and U.S. investors and expected financial close by year-end. Construction would start early next year.

Geometric Power, which has a 141 megawatt captive power for industrial use in Abia State, said the new plant would also be located in Abia State, southeast Nigeria.

Nigeria, with a population of around 170 million, has installed power capacity that fluctuates between around 6,000 to just over 7,000 MW, but experiences severe electricity shortages that are crippling its growth.

Some of the older plants, sold in October 2013, are in dire need of an upgrade while the fledgling generating firms lacking the cash as distributors struggle with non-paying consumers and inadequate gas supplies required to keep the plants running.

Nigeria is also in talks with Russia's state-owned Rosatom to build nuclear power plants.

(Editing by James Macharia)


https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/geometric-power-ge-build-1-081928989.html

Cc lalasticlala, Seun, ishilove.

Anyone knows if the legal wranglings between Geometric and Emeka Offors' power coy have been settled?

He should take it to Anambra or Enugu. Abia has shown by the people they've voted into power that they're not ready for development. The 141mw plant he already built the useless Abia government can't help him get it started.

Nigeria project everywhere, no one dey work. they are still building, the ones we don build nko, make them to work.

FG are quick to building and installing power plant but lack capacity to maintain It. Adequate maintenance is required to keep it efficient.

Until we shun the idea of assigning the duty of a technocrats to family members, change will only "yinmu" at us.

.

$800m?

That's chicken change dude
Invest more money

Say...$900trillion

Nice move dude!
Wish I have $1m to invest in ur idea

Nice move dude!
Wish I have $1m now to invest in ur idea

Good... Our people are investing in our region and some slowpoke will say otherwise.

stobery:
$800m?

That's chicken change dude
Invest more money

Say...$900trillion

Are you for real?

Librate every sector frm government interference

AfricanGod2:
he should take it to Anambra or Enugu. Abia has shown by the people they've voted into power that they're not ready for development. The 141mw plant he already built, the useless Abia government can't help him get it started.

^^^Fair point! I don't see how the useless gov't in that state has helped him....especially in light of the closeness between the former governor and GEJ!

AfricanGod2:
he should take it to Anambra or Enugu. Abia has shown by the people they've voted into power that they're not ready for development. The 141mw plant he already built, the useless Abia government can't help him get it started.

Abia has more need for power than other Southeast States at least for now and we all know it was Emeka Offor aided by Jonathan and his friends that stopped the power plant for tribalistic reasons. Thank God Buhari is now President. The plant will work and Nnaji will recover his lost billions.

Very wicked and jealous set of people. More power plants will be functional across Nigeria and power will really improve instead of the paper lies we are used to.

Massive

I think we re getting there gradually now. If there is enough conducive environment for private firm to work and contribute their own quota, I think things will be better. The major problem of the past government is corruption which crippled all area of development. This did not give private firm to invest massively cos of the fear of unknown. But with PMB in charge, we re in for the change we re craving for. God bless Nigeria

Is siting the plant in Abia a good idea?? Abia state is a little far from being developed, and no one knows if it's in their agenda to develop sef. On a second thought it could also help bring the much awaited development Abian are waiting for...who know?

Change = Transformation.

IGBOSON1:


^^^Fair point! I don't see how the useless gov't in that state has helped him....especially in light of the closeness between the former governor and GEJ!

What useful thing did we get in GEJ's admin?

Wither Enugu uncompleted Airport, 2nd Niger bridge, Enugu-PH expressway, Enugu-Onitsha expressway, PH-Owerri expressway? You guys need to face reality and beg Buhari to do what Jonathan could not instead of pretending like it was well under Jonathan.

Good development

All dis na paper yarn
Will it reflect in the power outputs in areas where it is meant to supply?

Pmb, gmb, gej, apc, pdp, una well done o

Its my BIRTHDAY!!! Wish me well abeg

I dont like stories about plans to build this power generation and that power generation plant. What Nigerians want is to see power and completed projects; NERC has issued tens of licenses over the years to intending companies to build power plants but nothing to show. They use those licenses to start importation of generators as 'power equipment' and escape complete taxation.
Igbos say 'seeing is believing' not paper and press statements of nuclear power today, geometric and GE tomorrow. Walk the talk please.

Good things just dey bounce enter 9ja....
Some goats and failures will say we don enter "ONE CHANCE".... What I know is that it is them and their BIAFRA that entered one chance!!! It will not and will never be the portion of NIGERIANS!!!

Lets hope its not one of those white elephant project