WorldStage Newsonline– Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu has said that the intervention of the Federal Government in the power sector has helped to further stimulate the Siemens Project which was conceived in August 2018.
Mr Bolaji Tunji, the Special Adviser, Strategic Communications and Media Relations to the minister said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
Tunji quoted Adelabu as saying “the inception of the present administration in 2023 brought about renewed vigour to the Siemens Power Project as an accelerated contract was signed to ensure visible progress in the project.
”There is no way the minister’s statement that no significant progress on the project was made until the present administration was inaugurated can be faulted when the major milestones between 2023 till date are considered.
”No doubt, there have been significant improvement in the Siemens project also known as the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) since the inauguration of the present administration on May 29, 2023,”he said.
He said that the PPI was conceived in August 2018, from the strong bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Germany, with the goal of transforming Nigeria’s power sector by increasing generation, transmission, and distribution capacity.
Adelabu said that this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, had demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the PPI, recognising its critical importance to opening up the economy and galvanising national development.
He said that the commitment of Tinubu’s administration was to ensure the expeditious delivery of improved power supply to industrial clusters, households, and businesses.
The minister said that the president also mandated the signing of an Acceleration Agreement with Siemens Energy to fast-track the implementation of the PPI
He said that the commitment translated into tangible results under the present administration resulting in leadership, strengthened programme, and governance, adding that it had expedited contract and financing approvals, leading to faster project implementation.
Adelabu while acknowledging efforts of past administrations on the PPI, he highlighted some of the key milestones under the present administration apart from the execution of an Acceleration Agreement with Siemens Energy to fast-track the implementation of the PPI.
According to him, these include the approval of a new technical direction for the PPI, ensuring Siemens Energy focuses solely on upgrading and modernising the transmission subsector through a Turnkey approach.
He said the president also approved that the distribution scope be delivered by other reputable Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Companies with the requisite technical, financial, and financing capacity.
” The strategic decisions aim to increase grid capacity by an additional 4,000MW by the end of 2026, with an aspirational target of an additional 2,000MW, as directed by the Economic Management Team in 2024.
”Noteworthy is the fact that the implementation of the PPI commenced with the installation and inauguration of 10 power transformers and 10 mobile substations across the country under the Pilot Phase of the PPI, which was manufactured and delivered in October, 2023.
”In 2024, there was a focus on the implementation of the pilot project and the initiation activities of the main phase of the PPI.
”Also, under the administration, the Federal Government Power Company implemented several transmission projects across the country, which have collectively increased the transmission wheeling capacity by more than 700 Mega Watts (MW) for industrial clusters, businesses, universities, and homes.
