Business
FG, AfDB Launch Project To Boost Energy Access
Federal Government and the African Development Bank have launched the National Electrification Project aimed at addressing critical energy access deficits by channeling private sector investments into mini-grid and off-grid solutions.
The project, which would be implemented by the country’s Rural Electrification Agency, was a boost to efforts to achieve the target of universal energy access by 2030, the AfDB said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said joint financing of $200m from the bank and the Africa Growing Together Fund would de-risk and scale-up private sector investment in the off-grid sector, nurturing a business ecosystem conducive to the rapid electrification of Nigeria’s off-grid communities.
The Minister of State for Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, thanked the AfDB for investing in the project, and highlighted its transformative potential.
“Imagine the impact a project like the NEP will have when it is replicated across rural communities in the country,” he was quoted as saying during the launch of the project on Tuesday.
The bank’s acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth, Wale Shonibare, outlined the expected development outcomes of the project.
“Over 500,000 people will have access to approximately 76.5 megawatts of increased installed power of which 68MW will be solar-generated,” he said.
According to him, eight universities will have access to reliable energy; 150 female students will receive training in renewable energy solutions, and 20,000 Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will be supplied with appliances and equipment.
A Senior Director for the AfDB in Nigeria, Ebrima Faal, said the NEP and other Bank-supported energy projects had been carefully designed to ensure that Nigerians had better access to reliable, affordable and safe power.
According to the statement, the NEP is aligned with the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa, the high five priorities and the bank’s Climate Change Action Plan.
“The project is also aligned with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan and the Power Sector Recovery Programme, which has the objective of increasing private investments in the energy sector,” it added.
Source; PUNCH
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
