BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE
Following the concession power signing agreement between the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and North-South Power Company Ltd, all is now set to put the Gurara 30MW Hydropower into sustainable operation towards increasing access to electricity in the country, especially in Kaduna State, aimed at job creation and better life for the people, the Minister of Water Resources, Eng. Suleiman Adamu, has revealed.
The Minister who revealed this yesterday at a briefing ceremony to mark the signing of the concession agreement in Abuja, noted that public-private partnership has proven a veritable relationship with capacity not only to accelerate infrastructural development in Nigeria, but would equally enhance their effective and efficient operation and maintenance.
Eng. Adamu reiterated that with the experience that has been gained from the concession process, the Ministry is now set to accelerate the pace of engagement with private partners for other opportunities, and then urged for continued support of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and all other stakeholders to enable the achievement of this vision.
Responding, the Director General of ICRC, Eng. Chidi Izuwo, appreciated the leadership role of the Minister in the concession process and vouched that the project would not only add 30MW to the existing power generation capacity of the country but would also bring N17.6 billion revenue to the coffers of the nation, in addition to creating jobs for a lot of Nigerians.
Earlier in his opening remark, the ministry’s Director of Water Supply and PPP, Eng. Benson Ajisekiri, had provided a detailed account of the concession process which, he recalled, started on 25th October, 2015 with rigorous processes according to laid down procedures until the final approval by the Federal Executive Council on 18th April, 2019.
The concession agreement signing was executed between the Ministry represented by its Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Comfort Ekaro. C and North-South Power Company Ltd represented the Director of the company.