According to the Deputy Project Manager, Li Xiao Ming, the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project, which is estimated to cost $1.3 billion and will add 700 Mega Watts of electricity to the national grid, will be completed this year.
Xiao Ming outlined the timelines for the projects’ commissioning in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.
According to him, the first and second turbines, each of which will generate 175 Mega Watts of electricity, will be operational in the first and second quarters of the year, while the third and fourth will be operational in the third and fourth quarters of the year.
It should be noted that the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project is being built by a consortium comprised of CNEEC and SINOHYDRO.
When finished, it will be the country’s second largest hydroelectric power project, trailing only the 760 megawatt (1,020,000 hp) Kainji hydroelectric power project.
It was also one of the largest power projects in Africa to receive preferential financing from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank).
The Deputy Project Manager went on to say that the project was expected to generate 2.64 billion kWh of electricity per year, enough to meet 10% of the country’s domestic needs.
Speaking about the projects’ benefits, Aliyu Muhammad Temaku, Assistant Human Resources Manager, stated that when completed, the plant will provide significant relief to both the country’s epileptic power sector and its struggling economy.
Ming also stated that the plant will provide flood control.
“Sinohydro Electric Power Project is the contractor in charge of building a 700mw power plant in Zungeru, Niger State.” The project, which began in 2013 and has a contract value of $1.3 billion, is currently 95 percent complete. Right now, the first unit of 175 turbines is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2022, with the hope that with the current work progress and workforce, the target will be met.
“The dam, as I mentioned earlier, is supposed to generate 700mw of electricity that will be added to the national grid, and it has four components of 175 turbines each, so the first unit is 175mw and is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2022, followed by the remaining three components,” he explained.
