NNPC, CMEC, GE sign deal for 50MW Maiduguri power plant

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it has signed a contract with China Machinery Engineering Company, CMEC, and General Electric, GE, to provide 50 Mega Watts of electricity to Maiduguri, Borno State.

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad on Wednesday in Abuja explained that while the Chinese firm will execute the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract, American firm, GE, would manufacture the equipment for the Emergency Power Project in Maiduguri.

According to the corporation, the project which is an integral part of ongoing efforts to deepen the Corporation’s domestic gas utilization plan for the nation’s socio-economic growth, was a significant step towards redeeming the pledge by the NNPC to intervene in the perennial electric power supply challenge in Maiduguri, Borno State.

NNPC also disclosed that as a mark of confidence in the Corporation, the contractors had commenced movement of vital equipment to site and started work on the project ahead of the formal signing of the contract.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who spoke at the virtual event, explained that the Corporation through its subsidiary, NNPC Gas and Power Investment Company, NGPIC, decided to intervene in the Maiduguri power situation by undertaking the project which will be fired with Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, and run commercially.

Kyari said NNPC, as a state-owned oil company and enabler organization, was determined to boost power generation and supply to Nigerian homes through increased investment in gas-fired combined cycle power plants to produce at least 5 Giga Watts additional power for the country.

According to him, “NNPC is therefore seeking the cooperation of all stakeholders, especially GE and CMEC to ensure timely delivery of the single cycle by December 2021 and the combined cycle by first quarter of 2022”.

On his part, Vice President of GE Africa & Europe, Mr. Raisin Brice, said the company was committed to working with NNPC to achieve success in the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project, noting that GE would be tapping into its vast experience in the country to deliver on the project.

President of CMEC, Mr. Fang Yanshui, also gave his supported and commitment to the project delivery