The multi-billion Sokoto State Independent Power Project (IPP) has not taken off more than 13 years after its conception, fueling fears that the plant may be yet another gigantic elephant project.
Investigations by 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE revealed that since its conception in 2008, the IPP has been bogged down by many problems including source of energy to power it, exorbitant cost at which it will sell the electricity it produces, dearth of investors and industrial customers and most recently, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic which threw many plans and cost calculations off-gear.
Contract for the 38 megawatts capacity plant was awarded by Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko’s administration in 2008 to a United States-based energy company, Vulcan Capital Energy. The project is being executed through a subsidiary partner in Nigeria, Vulcan Elvaton Limited. Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s administration inherited the project in 2015 and has been grappling with it ever since.
Many completion datelines
The contract was awarded at the initial cost of N3.8 billion with a completion period of six months. The dateline was later shifted to September 2009, later to December 2010 and still later to July 2011. Similarly, the completion period was later fixed for September 2013 before it was extended to August 2014, November 2016 and again shifted to December 2019.
According to Sokoto Commissioner for Energy, Alhaji Balarabe Dandin Mahe, an additional N1.7 billion was spent on the project before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, making the total amount so far spent on the project to be N5.5 billion.
Fueling dilemma
Initially, it was said that the plant would be powered by diesel which would be sourced from neighbouring Niger Republic because of its proximity to Sokoto State. After considering its financial implications however, this idea was dropped.
It would be recalled that, during its test run on November 30, 2019, the project’s Director-General, Mr. Umar Bande was reported to have said that the plant would consume 33,000 litres of diesel daily, which translates into 12,045,000 litres of diesel in a year.
In 2014, the then Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, Rotimi Amaechi during his projects inspection tour in Sokoto State also expressed reservation on the possibility of running the plant with diesel, which must be brought from elsewhere.
We’ll get gas through AKK project – Official
Speaking to 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE, state Energy Commissioner Dandin Mahe said the issue of fueling was no longer a problem to them because modern technology has provided other alternative sources of powering the plant.
“In the past this used to look like impossible. We could not venture into this area because of the cost but now there is Green Field which approached us and is ready to supply NLG to the plant.
“We can also have a sub-station for gasifying. Product will be brought in liquid form which would be gasified and injected into the plant. That possibility is also there and we are consulting a relevant company that can do this for us. And remember, the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline being laid by the federal government will make things easier for us.
“We are just waiting for the contractor to finish his work. It is after the handover that we will use gas,” he said.
Experts are raising concern over sourcing gas from the AKK project, looking at the cost since the closest link between Sokoto and the AKK is 400 kilometers.
“This means that even after powering the plant with gas or diesel, the electricity will be produced at a rate far higher than what obtains in the energy market, thus making it nearly unaffordable for the customers, who are mostly home users, not industrialists,” an energy expert said.
‘Plant not white elephant project’
Reacting to critics, the commissioner said the project was never a white elephant project because the plant is there and “we witnessed its test run last year. It revolved at 1000rpm.
Dandin Mahe told our reporter that, some investors had indicated interest in investing in the project but the incursion of the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted that move.
“But all these will soon come to pass because the federal government has pledged to resolve all outstanding issues that were responsible for stalling its take-off,” he said.
