$570m North-Core Power Project To Save ECOWAS $58bn, Says FG
The North Core 330KV transmission project will save West African countries about $58 billion in annual energy spending and boost trade among countries covered by the ongoing interconnection transmission line, the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman has said.
The $568 million project is funded jointly by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD), the World Bank (WB) and the Nigerian government.
The Minister, who spoke at the first session of the joint ministerial steering committee of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) in Abuja, said the project will involve the construction of approximately 875 km of 330 kV and 24 km 225 kV transmission lines from Nigeria to Togo, the Niger Republic and the Benin Republic with associated substations.
The project will also electrify rural communities located within a 5km radius on both sides of the line, and also execution of several environmental and social mitigation measures.
“The limited access to electricity as well as the endemic electricity shortages constitutes a bottleneck to the socio-economic development of ECOWAS Member States,” Saleh said.
According to him, it will further include, among others, the implementation of resettlement action plans to provide compensation for persons and communities affected by the project.
Nigeria and indeed, the Ecowas region has limited access to electricity and endemic electricity shortages constitute a bottleneck to the socio-economic development of member states. In the region, two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 600 million people, are without access to electricity, despite the region’s natural resources.
The lack of reliable and affordable electricity, the minister said, significantly constrains economic activity and growth in the countries and affects disproportionally the poorest segment of the population of the sub-region.
The project is thus seen as a game-changer that could shape the energy landscape of the sub-region through effective and efficient power trade, and also one of the priority projects in the infrastructure programme of the WAPP, aimed at facilitating efficient energy trade in the area.
“The World Bank estimates that power trade within the WAPP could lead to cost savings of $58.0 billion per year, enabling covered countries to benefit from more cost-effective hydro or gas-based imports.
” I am fully confident that the completion of this project, in the 3rd quarter of 2023, will come as a sustainable solution and major contributor to the power sector of West Africa,” Saleh said.
Speaking at the event, the ECOWAS Energy Commissioner, Sedikou Douka said the project will significantly boost trade and cooperation among member states and peoples.
“This is a flagship project that will connect all four countries involved by 330KV high voltage transmission line to facilitate electricity trade in the sub-region, as well as technical assistance. It will promote trade agreements between its participants and extend access to electricity to the populations along the transmission line.
“This project will enable an initial energy exchange estimated at about 430MW, which could reach more than 600MW within five to ten years after its commissioning,” Douka concluded.
The North Core project is a 330KV transmission line from Birnin Kebbi (Nigeria) to Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) through Zabori (Niger) and Niamey (Niger) with T-off to Malanville (Benin).
The estimated investment costs are around 550 million USD for the 853 km of lines and five associated substations.
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