- Mamman gives reasons for the change in the capacity of the Mambilla project
- Capacity change to encourage investments
- China EXIM to provide 85% counterpart funding for the project
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has given reasons for the change in the capacity of the Mambilla Hydropower Project. Speaking to the members of the Senate Committee on Power, Mamman stated that it became necessary to reduce the capacity of the project from the original project capacity of 3,050MW to 1500MW. Mamman stated that the reduction in the project capacity was implemented to attract investors and make it a viable project for lenders.
“We discovered that the 3,050 megawatts are not feasible. We’ve sent officials to China to review the project, and the memo is on the table of Mr President waiting for approval”, Mamman said. “The idea of rescoping the project is to make it bankable. The market we’re operating today in Nigeria is different from the market that was operated when the Mambilla project was conceived”, he added.
Mamman also noted that the challenge of the project was on its bankability. “Most of the issues around the Mambilla power plant are on the bankability of the project. What we did was redesign the project to be bankable and acceptable to the lenders”, Mamman said.
The Mambilla located in Taraba State cost $5.8 billion and was approved in 2017 by the Federal Government. The project is co-financed by China Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for 85% while the Federal Government finances 15%.