Landslide may stall $3.2bn Mambilla Hydro-Power project
(Nigeria) The over $3.2billion Mambilla Hydro-power project with the capacity to generate 3050 megawatts is being threatened by several factors including massive landslide and bad roads.
The Mambilla hydro-electric power project in Taraba State
was initiated in 1982 to serve as the largest single hydro-power station in
Nigeria. The contract was awarded on May 28, 2007 at the sum of $3.2 billion to
China Gezhouba Group Company Limited, CGGC and another Chinese consortium,
Sinohydro.
The current six biggest thermal stations in the country have
a total capacity of 3030 mw which is still far less than Mambilla’s 3,050
megawatts.
The Economic Confidential gathered that the contract sum has
increased to about $6billion due to inflationary trends as Chinese Firms are
expected to provide 70 per cent of the sum while 30 per cent would be provided
by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Due to various factors the project was
suspended during the previous administrations.
In an effort to ensure the speedy completion of the project,
President Muhammadu Buhari was in China this year to seek the assistance of
Chinese government, the major financier for the power-station.
Recently some foreign engineers in company of government
officials on an inspection visit to Taraba State refused to proceed further to
Barup, the project site due to bad roads damaged by massive landslide. Other
access roads are bushy that only bikes could ply while the rivers have no
functional bridges.
All entreaties by officials and members of the local
community were not heeded by the foreigners who insisted that they would not
continue the journey on dangerous paths.
A source at the Federal Ministry of Work Power and Housing
told the Economic Confidential that the Minister, Mr. Raji Fashola, has shown
keen interest in ensuring the completion of the project because of its
potential to add 3000MW to the grid through Hydro-Electric project rather than
expensive gas plants.
The officer added that “the Ministry is working towards
assessing the condition of the roads for immediate solutions. We are all aware
that the project would provide employment opportunities and is expected to
boost national economic growth.”
Also concerned about the development, former President
Olusegun Obasanjo urged President Buhari to immediately complete the Hydro
Power Project to increase the energy potentials of Nigeria and pave way for
more development.
Obasanjo who was speaking with news men in Jalingo, Taraba
State said that the project would be of great benefit to the region and to
Nigeria and as such must be quickly completed.
He added that the cost of completing the project was rising
by the day stressing that it would be better to complete it now than wait for
when it would be more expensive.
A community leader and Chairman of Mambilla Plateau Legacies
Forum, MPLF, Mallam Ibrahim Ismail Sadiq appealed to the Federal and state
governments to take urgent measures at addressing the problems of the roads and
open up the potentials of the plateau. He said that the surrounding communities
that are borders to Cameroon Republic are on the verge of being cut off from
Nigeria as a result of the landslide that occurred on the only road linking
Mambilla Plateau with Taraba state and Nigeria as a nation.
He said that: “Many foreign investors are reluctant to ply
the dangerous roads that are dilapidated by landslides while the rivers could
not be accessed by vehicle due to lack of functional bridges.
“Apart from the potential to generate power-supply, Mambilla
Plateau offers attractive settings worth of massive investments than anywhere
in Nigeria because of its unique physical and conducive climatic conditions for
human settlement and cattle breeding.”
The Mambilla Plateau is a high grassland with an average
elevation of 2419m (5249ft) above sea level, making it the highest Plateau in
Nigeria which occupies an area 9389km§. It has cattle ranches, tea plantation
and rolling glassy hills.
It is a home to some rare species of birds and animals.
The highland is also home to Nigeria and West Africa's only
highland tea plantation and production.
Comments
Post a Comment