- The 3050 MW Mambilla Hydropower Project in Nigeria has stalled amid a fresh claim of breach of contract by the Federal Government (FG).
- Sunrise Power & Transmission Co. accuses the government of reneging on a settlement accord agreed last March that was supposed to resolve a long-running dispute over the rights to construct the Mambilla facility.
- Sunrise has filed a complaint with the International Chamber of Commercein Paris.
- A consortium of Chinese state owned enterprises have been awarded the project on the Dongo River near Baruf, in Kakara Village of Taraba State but will not start until the dispute is resolved.
Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, previously struck a deal with with Sunrise. In February 2020, the parties agreed that the government will pay Sunrise Power USD 200 million to drop any claims relating to the project and if the money was not paid within 180 days, then the government would pay Sunrise Power an additional US$ 200M plus interest. Read more
However, according to Femi Falana, Sunrise Power legal representative, the company has received nothing to date despite the many commitments of the ministers concerned. “We are simply asking the court to order the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to respect the agreement reached last March.”
This hurdle further barring the government of the West African country from securing subsidy from the Export-Import Bank of China which had agreed to help fund the implementation of the Project but insisted that it won’t release the money until the legal standoff ends.
The 3.05GW hydroelectric facility is set to be built by Sinohydro Corp., a Chinese state-owned hydro power engineering and construction company, China Gezhouba Group Co., a Chinese construction and engineering company, and China Geo-Engineering Corp. Read more
Upon completion, the Mambilla hydropower plant will be the biggest of its kind in the West African country, producing approximately 4.7 billion kWh of electricity per year, and providing electricity to approximately 3 million homes.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
