Abuja, Oct. 9, 2023: Sinohydro Corporation Ltd., and China National Electric Engineering Company, both Chinese consortium, have said the Zungeru hydropower project would boost sustainable electricity power supply in Nigeria.
It also said that the project is set to make a significant contributions to Nigeria’s power generation capacity.
The consortium made this known in a joint statement by the organisations on Sunday.
According to the statement, the Zungeru hydropower project proved China-Nigeria partnership at its best and it would boost Nigeria’s power generation capacity.
The statement said, “The Zungeru project is estimated to generate 2.64 billion kWh of electricity annually, which will meet close to 10 per cent of Nigeria’s total domestic energy needs.
“It will provide flood-control, irrigation, water-supply and fish-breeding facilities; although construction works on the power plant started in May 2013, it is expected to take 60-months for completion with initial completion date of 2018.
“However, legal and financial challenges related to ecological settlement in the affected area delayed the project commissioning to 2021.
“The global pandemic COVID-19 further delayed the construction period as the site was shut down from operation in the year 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.”
The statement explained that the engineering, procurement, and construction contract was awarded to a Chinese consortium comprising China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) and Sinohydro.
It said amidst security challenges such as attack on workers at the site in 2022, Zungeru hydropower project progressed, adding that as of Aug. 15, 2023, the project was successfully handed over to the Federal Government.
“The Zungeru hydropower project located on the Kaduna River in Niger is a 700MW hydroelectric facility built by a Chinese consortium comprising Sinohydro Corporation Limited and CNEEC.
“The project which costs about $1.3bn approximately (₦162.9 billion) is the biggest power project completed in Nigeria in the past ten years and one of the biggest power projects in Africa.
“To avail preferential loan facility from the Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) of China; the project is designed to generate 2,630 GWh energy with a total installed capacity of 700MW.
“The main components of Zungeru hydropower project include 2,400m Roller-Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity feed dam, underground powerhouse behind the RCC dam, tailrace-channel and two switchyards on both banks of the river.
