Nigerian Government Announces Winner for Zungeru Hydropower Plant in Niger State

Nigerian Government Announces Winner for Zungeru Hydropower Plant in Niger State

  • The Nigerian government has announced preferred bidder for the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant concession.
  • It is Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL) and negotiation has already started
  • MESL won the 700MW power plan after beating out other bidders who scored lower in the evaluation process.

The Nigerian government has approved Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL) as the preferred bidder for the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant concession.

Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL) secured the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant, with a concession fee of $70 million per year for 30 years.

The development was announced by Ibeh Chidi, head of public communications for the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), in a statement, Punch reports.

Power plant in Nigeria
Zungeru hydroelectric power plant has the capacity to generate 700mw of electricity. Photo credit: presidency
Source: UGC

The 700MW capacity Zungeru HPP is Nigeria’s second-largest hydroelectricity power station, behind the Kainji Hydroelectric Power Plant.

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MESL will operate the plant for 30 years before transferring it to the government.

How MESL won the bid

MESL scored 94.3% of the total 1,200 marks, surpassing the minimum benchmark score of 75%, and offered the highest concession fee.

The NCP had approved the concession of the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant on December 21, 2020, and 11 firms submitted bids when the Bureau of Public Enterprises published the requests for qualifications for the concession on October 27, 2022.

Consequently, the BPE published the requests for qualifications (RfQ) for the concession of the power plant in three national newspapers on October 27, 2022, which at the close of the deadline, 11 firms submitted bids.

Three of them: Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Limited Consortium (APPNLC), Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), and North-South Power Consortium (NSP), prequalified for the deal.

In another development, the NCP has approved a scheme of external restructuring proposed by Kepco Energy Resources Nigeria Limited (KERNL), the core investor in Egbin Power Plant.

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BPE said:

“The approval is to enable the entity to boost its capacity to raise the required capital to double the existing capacity of the plant to 2,640MW."

Nigerian govt says exporting electricity to Benin, Niger strategic

In another report, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria has continued to sell electricity to neighboring countries despite many Nigerian homes not having access to power.

Recently, Nigeria's electricity generation collapsed to 3,876MW, its lowest level in months, and has remained below 5,000mw when the country needs over 28,000mw.

According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria has a total of 8, 310,408 registered active electricity customers.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.