Nigeria’s President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday commissioned the Olurunsogo Power Plant in Ogun State, South West Nigeria.
The 750 megawatts power plant is part of the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP) built by the three tiers of government and is expected to add capacity to power generation.
During the commissioning of the newly built power plant, the President said that this project was a testament to the success of the reforms in the sector.
“It is instructive to know that this power station, like all the other nine, have been privatised through the very transparent and successful bid process which was carried out last year.
“This process initiated the expanded engagement of the private sector in the operations and management of our power assets.
“The proceeds realised from the privatisation process will be reinvested to further strengthen the national transmission grid,” President Jonathan said.
The Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, also explained, “Power generation in the country today has improved tremendously, with NIPP power stations playing an increasingly significant role in adding to the generation mix to Nigerians.
“Actual and available generation capacity has consistently hovered around 5,000 Megawatts with NIPP contribution rising daily as more units are synchronised into the system.”
Investments so far on the project stand at 650million dollars and 8.26billion dollars on other integrated power plants.
The Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, speaking to Channels Television, also expressed joy that the NIPP idea had become successful with other African countries, especially South Africa beginning to copy it.
The Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, was also present at the commissioning.
The Olurunsogo Power Plant is already up and running.
