Nigerian Government, Chinese Contractors Clash Over 3,050-Megawatt Hydro Build Schedule

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--There has been plenty of spin surrounding the construction of the 3,050-megawatt (MW) Mambilla and 700-MW Zungeru hydropower projects in Nigeria, and some of the spin is rooted in the federal government's desire to see the power available to the grid sooner rather later.

But even though an air of final agreement was expressed by government spokesmen after a meeting with project contractors, Sinohydro Corporation (Shanghai, China) and China National Electric Engineering Corporation (CNEEC) (Beijing, China), and the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoU) in the capital Abuja last week, it now appears that the two parties have failed to agree on a completion date for both projects.

The contractors specifically stated that the Mambilla plant would take about six years to complete, which is in line with the standard work schedule for the construction of such a high-profile dam, but the government insisted that the project must be ready for inauguration by President Goodluck Jonathan within the first quarter of 2015. This shows a gap of about three years between the government's hopes and the contractors' estimate.

"The federal government has no time for dragging of feet," said the Minister of State for Power,Zainab Kuchi. She said this when a consultant to the project, Joseph Okoye, clarified the completion timeline, reports This Day. "We have a transformation agenda that we are pursuing, and we don't have all the time to waste. We don't have six years to deliver Mambilla. Mr. President has to inaugurate these projects in 2015, and we are targeting the first quarter of 2015."

Okoye continued: "From our work plan, it will take at least six years to complete Mambilla. As you are aware, this is not just any project; the plant we are talking about will have several tunnels of about 20 kilometers, shafts and an underground power house. We are talking about the biggest power dam in this part of the world, and from our plan, this project will not be completed within the time you are talking about, which is 2015."

Mambilla is expected to be constructed under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) concession agreement. Investment in the dam project will be about $3.2 billion. The government will contribute 15% for Mammilla, and Zungeru will be 75% financed by the Exim Bank of China.

The project's history has been long and drawn out, with feasibility studies being executed in 1981. A Nigerian contractor instigated legal action and became the preferred bidder in 2003. Kuchi said that the legal tangle around this had been sorted out, and Sinohydro and CNEEC were now the contractors. The project capacity has been upped from the original 2,600 MW to 3,050 MW.

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