- Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has launched a tender for consultancy services to effect the process of awarding a concession for the 700MW Zungeru hydroelectric power plant.
- The new hydro-electric plant is expected to be fully commissioned in 2021.
The winning consultant will assist the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and the BPE through due diligence review and the activities required to prepare it for the concession transaction. The consultant will review all relevant laws, regulations and policies that could impact the success of the concession. The company will develop concession strategies that are likely to attract the interest of world-class investors and provide detailed concession plans for BPE based on the strategic concession criteria defined by the NCP.
Related news: Nigeria requests loan from China for 3050MW Mambilla Hydro Project
Construction of the Zungeru hydropower plant is 87% complete. The plant will operate with a roller-compacted concrete dam built on the Kaduna River, a tributary of the Niger River. The dam has a height of 101 m and a length of 233 m, forming a reservoir capable of storing 10.4 billion m3 of water. The underground power plant behind the dam will be equipped with four turbines of 175 MW each.
The power station will have a capacity of 700 MW and an annual production of 2,630 GWh. Zungeru will become the second largest hydroelectric facility in Nigeria, after the 760 MW Kainji hydroelectric plant.
The Zungeru hydropower project has cost USD 1.3 billion, financed 75% through a loan from Exim Bank of China and 25% by the Nigerian central government. The project is being constructed by a consortium formed by China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) and Sinohydro, a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China).
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
