Josephine Lohor
10 February 2005
Abuja — The Federal Government yesterday approved N40 billion ($300 million) contract for the implementation of the Nigeria Communication Satellite which is expected to be launched next year and thereafter generate about $200 million annually over a 15-year period.
Minister of Science and Technology, Professor Turner Isoun, who stated this while briefing State House correspondents on highlights of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which was presided over by Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said that the launch of the satellite was expected to generate between 1.5 to 2 million jobs within three years and train over 50 world class engineers through technology transfer.
According to Isoun, "our efforts in launching Nigeria SAT 1 gave us the confidence and the motivation to go into communication satellite. And we have been working on this for over a year. This project we hope would be completed and the stellite would be launched in 2006.
"The communication satelite would impact on telecommunication, broadcasting and media, internet, intelligence, security, environment, banking, agriculture, oil and gas, manufacturing, commerce and insurance, education, medicine, transportation, etc. This is a project that is cutting across and is an indication of the power of deploying the tools of science and technology to impact on very fundamental areas that affect our lives," he added.
Speaking of revenue that the communication satellite is expected to rake in for Nigeria, the Minister said that "we have made revenue and more are coming. I do not have the exact revenue that we have in the kitty. Other African countries like Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa have shown interest. So, the original objective that this satellite would serve the whole of Africa has not been lost."
Isoun also noted that "we intend to generate close to $200 million every year by the time it is fully on. And this would have a life span of over 15 years. The communication satellite would cost us close to $250 million but we believe that we would be able to recover that investment. And then with the benefit we would get in capacity and technology transfer we would be able to be in control of the boundary cost. The trade-off is enormous."
He also stated that "we are very confident that this project is viable, it would generate a lot of revenue and it would be able to generate jobs. We are hoping that it would generate between 1.5 to 2 million jobs in the next two to three years. It would also ensure technology transfer where we hope to train over 50 world class engineers and to add to what we already got."
The Federal Government also approved a N611 million contract for the rehabilitation of the switch yard at the 23 year-old Delta power station in Ughelli.
The Minister of Power and Steel, Senator Liyel Imoke, while disclosing this, said that the contract which was awarded to ABB Nigeria limited with an executiion date of end September 2005, arose from the "need to put in better and bigger transformers that would allow the 150 megawatts of capacity to be evacuated into the grid."
Imoke said that "the station has been undergoing considerable rehabilitation. The station has improved its generating capacity from less than 300 mega watts in 1999 to over 600 megawatts today. But we are continuing to invest in that station. In 2001, this administration approved that the 150 mega watts station be located there and that project was completed and commissioned in the first phase.
"The second phase was also approved last year for the construction of an additional 150 megawatts station to replace the old Delta 3. We have two stations now that would replace Delta 2 and Delta 3. Each of these stations would be 150 megawatts. Delta 2 rehabilitation has been completed and was commissioned in 2001. Delta 3 rehabilitation would be commissioned in 2005. We would evacuate 150 megawatts of additional capacity into the grid before the end of this year," Imoke added.
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