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Nigeria to shortlist power bidders within weeks

By on April 14, 2011

Nigeria will draw up a shortlist of bidders over the next three weeks for power stations and electricity distribution firms that the government is offering as part of a multi-billion dollar privatisation plan.

Bolanle Onagoruwa, director general of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), said companies would be chosen for the six power stations and 11 distribution firms on their ability to reduce transmission losses in the network.

“Over the next three weeks, we should have the results of who the short-listed bidders are before we then go to the actual submission of technical and financial proposals,” Mrs. Onagoruwa told a news conference in the commercial capital, Lagos.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces an election on Saturday, has made ending chronic power shortages in Africa’s most populous nation one of the cornerstones of his campaign, and his administration is keen to show progress with the plans.

Blackouts are a major brake on growth in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy, and the potential returns for investors in the country of 150 million people are huge.

Utilities and engineering firms from Europe, North America, India, and China are among those that attended road shows in Dubai, London, New York, and Johannesburg this year.

The BPE received 174 expressions of interest for the four thermal and two hydro power stations, and 157 for the 11 distribution firms, in which investors will be allowed to take stakes of up to 70 per cent.

Some industry executives have said they are reluctant to make final commitments until the outcome of the elections is clear and until they see that Nigeria is able to implement a solid regulatory framework to govern the sector.

“We basically said to them that the process has been designed in such a way that they don’t have to pay their money until they have a clear idea of what the next government will do,” Mrs. Onagoruwa said.

“So that gives them some confidence … They can start due diligence,” she told the news conference.

The ruling party candidate has won every election in Africa’s most populous nation since the end of military rule in 1999, and Jonathan is considered the front-runner. But the opposition is hoping it can force a run-off.

Under the blueprint for reform, power generation and distribution will be privatised. Government will continue to own the national grid but its management will be privatised.Reuters

Source : 234next

One Comment

  1. Dansparrow1

    December 28, 2011 at 12:10 am

    dollar/penney electricty,profit over cost