Transcorp Invest N65Bn in Ughelli Power Plant

The core investor of Ughelli Power Plc has invested N65 billion into the power plant, according to Mr. Adeoye Fadeyibi, chief executive of Transcorp,

He made the disclosure when the Senate Committee on Privatisation paid an oversight visit to Ughelli Power.

Fadeyibi  said that the core investor has raised the capacity  from 170 MW (at handover of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria successor company to the core investor in November 2013) to 420MW— representing 46 percent of the 972 MW available capacity.

He added that the short/medium/long term goal include “gradual increase of plant output while stabilizing energy sent out to conform with industry standards till we get to original plant installed capacity of 1000MW by end 2015”, and “expansion of plant capacity by the installation of 1000MW Greenfield power plant by the end of 2018.”He noted that about 70 percent of its current assets in the plant employ US technology.

Senator Olugbenga Obadara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation commended the company over the local content of the management team.

In another development, the Committee visited the new Warri  Ports where they praised the satisfactory performance of the operators,  Messrs Associated Maritime Services, for the excellent development of  the infrastructure and commitment to the Concession Agreement.

Senator Obadara advised the concessionaire to apply for extension of the concession period to enable them continue with their good works and development of the ports given that the firm has three years left of its 10 year- concession period.

Officials of Nigeria Ports Authority also attested to the excellent performance of the concessionaire with regard to safety, revenue target, infrastructure  development, manpower training and almost 100 percent local content of its  personnel.

Meanwhile, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta State governor has commended the management of Ughelli Power Plc for the level of development and investment within six months of take over. He  said that the Delta State Government decided to invest in the power sector so that the profit would be used to subsidize power supply to the rural communities in the state.

The Governor who made the observations when  the Senate Committee on Privatisation paid him a courtesy call in Warri, also commended the management of Benin Distribution Company for its effort at boosting power distribution within its area of operation.

He noted that the oversight activities of the law makers would help to keep managers of privatised companies on their toes and ensure returns on investment for the benefit of Nigerians.