Nigeria: Coal Consortium Spends $7bn to Boost Power Generation

A Nigerian Coal-to-Power Consortium made up of Western Goldfield Limited and Sinocoal Limited of China has concluded plans to elevate power generation in the country by building 9 power stations with installed capacity of 5, 000 megawatts at the cost of $7 billion.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja at the weekend after meeting with President Umaru Yar'Adua, the leader of the Group and Vice President of Sinocoal, Mr. Liu Jianjun said the project is aimed at kick starting an industrial revolution in the country using coal as source of energy to generate electricity.

The project he noted is divided into phases, adding that the first phase involve the building of the power plants and the development of 9 environmentally friendly coal mines in designated coal fields across the country.

According to him, "The Group has identified power as a catalyst for industrial growth. We have gone ahead to lay out plans for energizing the country with low cost electricity. Our aim is to create an enabling environment for unprecedented industrial growth in Nigeria."

He further disclosed that new power transmission lines would be built to carry the power generated into the national grid.

Jianjun further revealed that the first phase of the project to be completed within 36 months would start in January 2008 with drilling seismic exploration, to be followed by mining operations in the coalfields.

The group said it has also made plans to build new towns before hand to discourage the growth of shantytowns resulting from the myriads of activities that will come with the take off of the projects.

Other complimentary projects to be directly established by the consortium include cement factories, coal carbonization plants, iron foundries, glass making, plasterboard manufacturing, agriculture and aquaculture.