Nigeria signs $463m power deal with Chinese consortium

The Federal Government of Nigeria, has signed $463 million distribution lines upgrade contract with a Chinese consortium.

The contract which is to be financed by the China Exim Bank has both off-shore and significant on-shore content.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the FGN Power Company, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) responsible for implementing the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), on behalf of the Ministry of Power and a Chinese consortium consisting of China Civil Engineering Construction (CCECC) and TBEA Energy, in a statement by his Special Adviser for Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji.

He said the agreement is aimed at upgrading the distribution lines infrastructure under Lot three of the PPI, which encompasses the regions served by Jos, Kano, Abuja, and Kaduna distribution companies.

The signing ceremony took place during the 3rd Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) event recently held in Beijing, China.

A similar MoU was signed between the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), CCECC and TBEA to establish a super grid for the power sector.

The minister and his team were hosted by these two organizations, particularly CCECC, which has been operating in Nigeria for the past 42 years.

The presentation was conducted by Mr. Liu Wiemin, Global Chairman of CCECC, and Mr. Huang Hanjie, TBEA Global President.

The Nigerian delegation to China was led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, accompanied by Adelabu; Minister of Works, David Umahi; Transportation Minister, Sa’idu Alkali; Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar and heads of various government agencies.

The Belt and Road initiative, established by the Chinese government a decade ago, seeks to promote infrastructure investment and cooperation across approximately 70 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Belt and Road agreement on behalf of the Nigerian government.