Nigeria, Egypt seek collaboration on energy expansion

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to rural development through improved electricity access aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda which emphasizes electricity as a fundamental right for all Nigerians.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this during a meeting with the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohammed Fouad recently in Abuja.

At the meeting, discussions centred on strengthening bilateral cooperation in energy expansion, with a focus on renewable energy and rural electrification.

Adelabu highlighted Nigeria’s efforts to connect remote rural areas to power through renewable energy initiatives, citing the economic challenges of extending the national grid to these regions.

“Many rural areas cannot be connected to the grid due to economic constraints, but we cannot neglect them.

“Through our renewable energy program, we are bridging this gap. We have secured significant investments, including $750 million from the World Bank’s DARES project and an additional $190 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to support this initiative,” Adelabu stated.

The minister, while emphasising Nigeria’s abundant renewable energy resources including solar, wind, and hydroelectric potential, expressed the government’s determination to harness these resources for sustainable energy access.

Adelabu also praised Egypt’s achievements in the energy sector, describing the country as a role model in energy infrastructure development. He expressed Nigeria’s interest in learning from Egypt’s experience in energy generation, transmission and distribution adding that the success in Egypt led to the engagements with Siemens with a view towards stabilising Nigeria’s power sector.

“Egypt has made remarkable strides in energy transformation and we are eager to collaborate and learn from your expertise. Our goal is to ensure reliable, stable, and affordable energy access for all Nigerians.”

Adelabu, who outlined Nigeria’s progress in the power sector since he assumed office 17 months ago, noted that access to electricity has been expanded to bridge noticeable gaps.

He also acknowledged challenges in grid reliability, aging infrastructure and metering gaps which the government is addressing through initiatives like the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI).

Ambassador Fouad expressed Egypt’s enthusiasm for collaborating with Nigeria, particularly in closing the metering gap and sharing best practices in energy access. He emphasized the shared goals and mutual benefits of strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.

“Nigeria and Egypt have much in common and there is immense potential for collaboration in the energy sector. We are committed to working together to achieve sustainable energy solutions for both countries,” Fouad said.

While, commending Adelabu’s commitment towards the expansion of power access across Nigeria, especially through renewable energy projects, the Ambassador said Egypt is working towards increasing its renewable energy from the present 14 percent to 42 percent and Nigeria’s experience would be invaluable to his country.

He said, “I want to commend you for the efforts you are putting into the power sector which is visible everywhere. Nigeria and Egypt had a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) about power projects. We should activate the MOU and maybe we can start by holding virtual meetings, talking to each other to see if there are areas where we can learn from each other because power is an ambitious plan especially, when it comes to renewable energy.

“We want to increase the contribution of renewable energy to our overall electricity production to 42 per cent by 2035. Now, it stands at 14 per cent. This is because fossil fuel is now the main thing. Our electricity comes fundamentally from gas, of course similar to Nigeria. Also like Nigeria, we are blessed with solar and wind to power our renewable energy. We need the cooperation of Nigeria in this area. We are looking forward towards you visiting us on this important exchange of ideas”, the envoy said.

The meeting underscored the growing partnership between Nigeria and Egypt in advancing energy access and renewable energy development, with both nations poised to leverage their shared resources and expertise for mutual growth.

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