From DENNIS MERNYI, Abuja
Nigeria power sector has received a boost, with the European Union (EU) and the government of Germany promising to invest€€24.5 million (about N5.3 billion) in the Nigerian power sector. Germany and EU are to route the fund through the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) launched by the Federal Ministry of Power, in collaboration with German International Corporation (GIZ).
The director of development cooperation, German Embassy, Mr. Schulz, disclosed this yesterday at Nigerian-German Energy Support Programme workshop in Abuja. Mr. V. Mitzlaff in a presentation entitled Objectives, Co-operation structure and challenges of the NESP said already, €9 million has been committed while €15.5 million would be advanced before the end of 2013.
“The total is €24.5 million, so €9 million is already committed, €15.5 million will wait for the final commitment from Brussels later this year,” he said. Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Minister of power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, described the Nigerian-German Technical Co-operation Support programme as a welcome relief as federal government encourages such bilateral and multilateral co-operations and relationship in its drive to effectively develop the power sector.
According to the minister, government seeks to provide adequate and reliable power by implementing generation, transmission and distribution projects as well as facilitating the emergence of a private sector-led competitive and efficient electric power industry. He said government recognises the need for assistance to drive the implementation of the Vision 20-2020, in which about 40,000 megawatts of electricity is targeted. “The power remains a veritable market and opportunity for those who want to invest in power.
The Nigerian government recognises that a range of assistance is needed to drive and support the implementation of vision 20, 20, in which we target a generation capacity of 40,000 megawatts,” he said. Nebo noted that the foundation of the co-operation would encourage private sector investments in renewable energy in the coming years, with policy regulations, enhancements of renewable energy efficiency issues through support for rural electrification and cross-cutting training. .
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