Minister of Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, has said the 700 megawatts Zungeru and 40megawatts Kashimbila hydro power projects will be inaugurated by December this year.
The power minister disclosed this on Tuesday during a budget defence session at the National Assembly.
The Zungeru plant, when completed, will be the second-largest hydroelectric power station in the country after the 760MW Kainji Hydroelectric Power Station.
Engr Aliyu said the Kashimbila power plant would begin operation after its inauguration in the second week of December and that N10 billion owed contractors had been paid.
He said however that erratic rainfall this year to power the turbines could prevent the Zungeru project from supplying the projected 700MW of electricity after its inauguration.
The minister said security challenges in Niger State could also prevent the inauguration of the project when completed in December.
He said workers who would operate the power project would relocate to the site and live there only if their security was guaranteed.
On Mambilla project, Engr Aliyu said the Minister of Justice was currently handling the legal issues stalling the takeoff of the project.
“It is only the Minister of Justice that can speak on such a high-profile legal case,” the power minister said.
“We have scheduled the Zungeru hydropower project for inauguration in December 2021. We met with the contractors recently and they are looking at December as not on the horizon.
“Perhaps the inauguration could be extended to one or two months into 2022. I, however, told them that we would stick to the December deadline. So, we are still working with the December deadline,” Engr Aliyu said.
