Power ministry to revive three abandoned projects in Abia

The Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, has assured that the three major power projects located in Abia North Senatorial District of Abia State, which have been abandoned for years would be reactivated and completed in the first quarter of next year.

Speaking during his working visit to the 2×30/40MVA substations 132 KVA transmission lines, which are located in Arochukwu, Ohafia and Ubur-Ihechiowa towns in Abia North Senatorial District of Abia State, the minister expressed dismay that the projects awarded since 2010 were abandoned at about 90 per cent completion.

He said the Buhari administration was ready to complete all abandoned projects in the power sector across the country in fulfilment of the president’s promise to Nigerians.

The minister pledged that the contracts for the three abandoned projects would be reviewed and re-awarded for immediate completion. He noted that “the power projects are of immense importance to the people because they would not only boost their electricity supply but also give room for expansion to cover the entire Abia Senatorial district.”

The minister, who was accompanied on the visit by the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, remarked that the multiplier effects of improved power supply on the socio-economic sector of the country could not be overemphasised: “To this end, the Federal Government has mapped out millions of different households across the nation for their power needs, distribution and monitoring, and for which we recently launched the Central Data Management System, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria.

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“The Central Data Management System (CDMS) is a digital platform of the Nigeria Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) that monitors power networks across the country. This initiative is part of our efforts to digitise the Nigerian power sector using innovative digital technologies and processes that will help address many of the key challenges that our power sector is facing today,” the minister added.

While maintaining that it was “very remarkable to note that within just one year of starting the Central Data Management System project, the primary data has been gathered, classified and stored on the Nigeria SE4All web portal,” Sale told the cheering crowds in all the three locations visited, that he would be happy to return to the sites next year to commission the projects.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE