Nigeria has signed an agreement with Sinohydro-CNEEC Corporation, composed of Sinohydro Corporation and China National Electrical Equipment Corporation, to build the 700-MW Zungeru hydroelectric plant on the Northern Zingeru River.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Power Hajiya Zainab Kuchi and Vice President of Sinohydro-CNEED Corporation Du Nan signed the agreement, which is an extension of the memorandum of understanding signed between Nigeria and Sinohydro to build a 3,050-MW hydropower facility on eastern Mambila Plateau.
The project is expected to cost NGN163 billion (US$1 billion). The Export-Import Bank of China will bear most of the cost of the Zungeru hydroelectric facility, providing 75% of funds while Nigeria provides the remaining 25%.
Local contract components of the project will be handled by Nigerian companies.
The feasibility studies for this project were initially completed in 1982. In 1992, contracts were awarded for the engineering design, preparation of tender documents, evaluation report, construction management and project supervision. Finally, the feasibility studies and engineering design were reviewed by Coyne et Bellier in 2008, with a recommendation of installed capacity of 700 MW, compared with the previous capacity of 950 MW.
The project is expected to be completed in about 48 months, sources indicate.
In other news, Power Holding Co. of Nigeria plans to hire consulting firms to develop an inventory of potential hydropower project sites in the catchment areas of the Niger and Benue rivers.
