On the Mambilla power project

According to the report, with the exception of some houses built by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration for the engineers and other staff, no single block could be sighted to show that work on the multi-billion naira power project is in progress. This is supposed to be the most ambitious power plant to be financed by the Nigerian government through the China Export-Import Bank.

No doubt, the proposed 1,525 MW hydroelectric power plant has gone through murky waters. At inception during the Shehu Shagari administration in 1982, it had a projected capacity of 2,600MW. In 2012, this was increased to 3,050MW due to the expansion of the former Gembu Dam now Nya Dam. Currently, the capacity of the plant has been revised downwards to 1,525MW going by the statement credited to the former Minister of Power, Sale Mamman.

With the damning BBC report, many Nigerians may have given up on the possibility of the project ever taking off. This is because Nigeria has a sad history of abandoned projects. The Ajaokuta Steel Company established by Babangida military administration which gulped billions of dollars but later abandoned is one such example.

Yet, businesses in Nigeria, according to a World Bank report, lose about US$29bn annually arising from the country’s erratic power supply.

After the privatization of the power sector, one would have expected the power sector to receive a new lease of life. Sadly, this has not been the case as the entire value chain is plagued with a plethora of issues that have continued to hinder the benefits associated with the exercise. When the Buhari government on coming to power announced the plan to revisit the project, many Nigerians expressed the hope that the project would be completed on time to boost power supply in the country. Now, given Nigeria’s perennial romance with failed projects, one is less optimistic about its delivery.

The reasons are not hard to fathom; lack of political will, conflict of interest between the Presidency, Ministry of Power and the contracting forms and corruption.

With the delays – the cost of the Mambilla project has risen from $1.46 billion in 1982 to $3.2billion in 2011 and is currently estimated to cost $5 billion.

It is high time government summoned courage and show commitment by removing the impediments surrounding the execution of the project. No nation the world over has attained greatness with erratic power supply. If the Mambilla power project can be successfully built and put to use, the country’s power generation would improve significantly and many companies currently starved of energy will bounce back to life. The Buhari led administration should not make the project another pipe dream.

• Ibrahim Mustapha,

Pambegua, Kaduna State.