- Gombe State in north-eastern Nigeria has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China18th Engineering for development of a 100MW solar PV plant.
- This follows a meeting last week with Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya and top executives of China Railway 18th Bureau Group in Gombe.
Commissioner of Energy and Mineral Resources, Sanusi Ahmad Pindiga, signed on behalf of Gombe State Government, while the Group Managing Director, Wan Lian Yu, signed for his company.
Governor Yahaya spoke on the importance of local power generation in driving economic growth and addressing frequent power outages.
“I am happy that today, we are hosting the management of the China 18th Bureau here in Gombe as a direct follow-up to our initial discussions in China. The MoU signifies the beginning of a transformative project that will boost electricity supply and bring prosperity to our people,” said Yahaya.
He added that the agreement will soon advance to a formal contract phase, setting the groundwork for project implementation. “With the execution of this project, we anticipate the creation of jobs, increased investments, and a reliable energy supply that will drive prosperity in Gombe and the northeast,” he stated.
The governor also referenced the recent nationwide blackout that affected Gombe and other parts of northern Nigeria, emphasizing that local power stations and alternative energy sources could mitigate such disruptions.
He stressed that his government is taking advantage of the newly enacted Electricity Act, which grants states the authority to generate, distribute, and market their own electricity, reducing dependence on the national grid.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
