The Federal Government, the European Union, EU and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed a €25 million agreement grant to strengthen the national electricity grid under the Northwest Northern Corridor Project
A statement issued by ADF’s office in Abuja on Wednesday said that the project was jointly funded by the EU and AFD.
It said that the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, and the AFD Country Director in Nigeria, Xavier Muron, signed the agreement.
Also at the signing was the Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Ms Emmanuelle Blatmann, and the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer.
According to the statement, the Northern Corridor Project which is being implemented by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), is meant to strengthen a low-carbon economic growth in West Africa by improving the quality of electricity network in Nigeria.
It will also support the development of a regional electricity market under the West African Power Pool (WAPP).
“The specific objectives of the project, in line with the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan (ETP) are to; reinforce globally the North-West network and develop access to electricity for the population,” the statement said.
It further said that the project would evacuate and distribute the solar generated power from future projects in the North.
The project will also build more than 800km of 330 kV double circuit transmission lines and construct or upgrade 13 substations.
This also includes participating in the WAPP interconnection project with Niger Republic, the statement added.
It quoted Agba as saying at the agreement signing ceremony that the grant agreement represented the EU’s contribution to the project while the AFD contribution of €202 million was signed in Dec.2020.
He said, “The total cost of the project is around 238 million Euros including a 12 million Euros contribution from TCN. In terms of expected impacts; 5GW additional evacuation capacity to be created under the project.
“Potential Transmission of 17TWh additional electricity every year. Possibility of several millions of people to have access to electricity and a better electricity service on a short term.
“Creation of 600 jobs (500 during the construction phase and 100 in the operation phase). This project will help TCN to operationalize its Transmission Expansion Plan.
“This is to be done through the construction of additional transmission lines and substations across nine states in the northern part of the country such as; Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Nasarawa.”
The statement further said that the AFD Country Director highlighted the importance of the project, stressing that it was a technical enabler for the integration into the grid of the expected solar farms in the Northwest.
He noted that the poor transmission network had been a significant bottleneck in many countries for the achievement of mix diversification.
It said that the France Ambassador in her remarks said that France was committed to helping Nigeria achieve its commitments on climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.
Also speaking, the EU Head of Cooperation, appreciated Team Europe’s collaboration with the Nigerian Government, which she described as a concrete example of how the EU Global Gateway can contribute to major investments in infrastructure development.
AFD funds supports are aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health and governance.
AFD has carried out more than 4,000 projects in France’s overseas departments and territories and 115 other countries.
AFD has been present in Nigeria since 2008 with its main office based in Abuja along with a branch in Lagos.
Its main sectors of intervention in the country are energy, higher education, agriculture, water supply, as well as clean transportation.
