The Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Alhaji Usman Gur says the Federal Government in collaboration with international donor agencies has set aside over 1.61 billion dollars to ensure constant power supply in the country.
Gur, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the TCN revealed this on Sunday in Kano while briefing newsmen at the Kumbotso power sub-station.
According to him, the project will be carried out under the Transmission Rehabilitation Expansion Programme.
“We are rehabilitating and expanding to degree 20, 000 Mega Watts by 2022 across the country,” he said.
He noted that, the federal government has already earmarked about N32 billion to compensate Nigerians whose lands, houses and farms could be affected by the Righ-Of-Way to create Power Lines for the execution of the project.
“The total amount that we are going to pay for compensation across the country is about N32 billion. And the total project cost is 1.61 billion dollars. The project will be supported by various international donors.
“The compensation for right-of-way from Kumbotso sub-station to Rimi Zagara will cost about N3 billion. We have not completely validated it. The total cost for compensation across the country being provided by the Federal Government,” he said.
Gur who is also the chairman of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Committee Executive Board stated that he led the TCN team to Kano to validate and look at the route that ran from the Kumbotso Transmission sub-station to Rimi Zakara.
“You know we are going to connect Rimi Zakara to this sub-station (Kumbotso). Rimi Zakara is the place we are putting another 330 KV Sub-station, just like this one in Kumbotso.”
“The mistake that happened in the past is that we normally award contract for line without doing the study. You know the study will establish who are the people under the right-of-way; and who are those people that are going to be affected by the lines.
“So, we are supposed to have come up with those people and pay them their compensation.
“Unfortunately, this contract was awarded many years, even before I came. It is not only this one, many of them are like that. They awarded the contracts without the payment of compensation.
“That is why now, we are trying to pay the compensation, we are validating it, but we also need to tell people that this takes time, because right now, we have over 1000 people who need to be compensated within Kano alone.
“That is why I am here, I will go through the routes and see exactly what are in the right-of-way. We are actually collaborating with Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje because some people who have land on the right-of-way are seeking for relocation.
“We are going to request to the governor to relocate them and give them land in some other places so that we can build the line,” he said.
According to him, “what we are doing for Kano state, actually is that we are trying to change the game. It is what you call game changer. Right now, the only line that supplies Kano is the 330 Single-Sighted Line that run from Kaduna to Kano.
“We are bringing a Code Line from Kaduna to Kano. Now, you know we need to get a source of supply to transport the line from Kaduna to Kano. When I came newly in February, 2017, the line between Jos and Kaduna was funded only 10 per cent, but today the line is 98 per cent completed.
“That means we have bulk power at the double-sighted line apart from the Single-sighted line from Jos to Kaduna. Then from Shiroro to Kaduna, we have two Single-sighted lines; none of them can carry more than 300 Mega Watts.
“We are taking one of them and we are going to construct it into a Code Line,” he said.
He further explained that those projects, particularly, the one from Shiroro to Kaduna, the procurement of that line is about 80 Per Cent completed and it is funded by French Development Agency.
Gur added that from Kaduna to Kano, TCN is building a Code Line, adding that the public information, this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that TCN is doing 330 Code Line.
He said this mean it is going to carry, four Conductors per pair, which is expected to bring 2,400 Mega Watts of power.
“Now, I will also want to tell you that we want to change the game here completely. So, there is a line we are building from Kainji to Birnin Kebbi, Benin Kebbi to Sokoto; and also from Katsina to Daura, Daura to Gwiwa and from Gwiwa to Jogana. That line is also funded by AFD that is French Development Agency.
“In fact, the line from Katsina to Daura, Daura to Gwiwa, Gwiwa to Jogana is going to evacuate the Solar IPP in Gwiwa which is going to be the like of the Marrakech Solar IPP in Morocco”, Gur assured.