Leadership (Abuja)
Betrand Nwankwo
28 July 2008
The Chinese government has made a commitment of N386.1billon ($3.3 billion) for the development of hydropower in Nigeria, leadership learnt at the weekend.
Sources at the Ministry of Energy (Power) said the financial commitment by China to the hydropower sector is in line with the Federal Government's efforts at attracting private investment into the power sector.
The government has been yearning for investment in the sector, given the current state of the country's hydropower stations and the huge capital requirements needed to standardise and build new ones.
According to the sources, the $3.3 billion is for 10 projects with the potential to boost hydropower generation by 6,000 megawatts of installed capacity in the country and the sub-Saharan Africa region.
China, with about 70 percent of its investment concentrated in four African countries – Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and Ethiopian is currently financing the rehabilitation of 1,350 kilometres of railway and constructing 1,600 kilometres of new railway lines across the region.
China Harbor Engineering Co. (CHEC) recently signed an agreement to build a $1 billion road around the country's main oil hub of Port Harcourt. Officials from CHEC signed the memorandum of understanding for the construction of the 125 km (78 mile), six-lane road around the city during a visit to Beijing by Nigerian local government and AFC officials.
It said the road-building project would be the largest of its kind in Africa.
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria's 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) oil industry but is plagued by unrest due to attacks by militant groups on oil pipelines and the kidnapping of foreign workers and local politicians by criminal gangs.
The Nigerian government has made developing infrastructure in the region one of the planks of its campaign to bring peace to the delta, where impoverished local communities complain they are seeing none of the benefits of oil wealth.
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