Nigeria to receive US $1.16m grant for new Abuja power plant

Nigeria is set to receive a grant of over US $1m from the U.S. government for technical and financial work on a power plant project in the capital Abuja, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has confirmed.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) signed the agreement for the grant as part funding for the NNPC-Abuja Independent Power Project (IPP) at the ongoing Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja. The money will go towards the implementation of the 1,350MW NNPC-Abuja Independent Power Project plant and NNPC will work with U.S. firms GE and Continuum Associates.

According to the acting USTDA Director Thomas Hardy, the money will be used in doing a feasibility study for the project to prove its commercial viability. Upon completion, the project is expected to alleviate the power challenge in the country.

Abundant natural gas resources

NNPC Group Managing Director Mallam Mele Kyari, said the plan by the corporation to build the power plant in Abuja was part of the national strategy to monetize the abundant natural gas resources in the country.

The USTDA grant will complement the ongoing feed project in order to make the Abuja IPP initiative more bankable for strategic investors’ participation. The Abuja 1,350MW Independent Power Plant (IPP) project would leverage on the existing huge natural gas resources from the NNPC upstream and the proposed AKK gas pipeline.

The project will sit on a 54.7 hectares of land in Dukpa in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT. NNPC has already begun the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the plant.

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Construction Review Online By Fidelis John –

Feb 19, 2020