President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) has approved the release of funds for the commencement of the first part of the 1st Phase of the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).
A statement by the Presidency on its Twitter handle said the funding will be to kick-off the pre-engineering and concession financing work streams.
Buhari also directed that the federal government engage the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist in developing the commercial structure of the intervention, and that it should execute an independent valuation of the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
He also directed that Siemens AG shall be solely responsible for nominating its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) partners for the project, without the involvement of middlemen.
“Our goal is simply to deliver electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes. Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a Government-to-Government framework. No middlemen will be involved, so that we can achieve value for money for Nigerians,” the President said.
The PPI journey started on August 31, 2018, when Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Nigeria and met with President Buhari, along with the Global CEO of Siemens.
Nigeria and Germany then agreed to explore cooperation in some areas, including Power. The PPI has the goal modernizing and increasing the national electricity grid capacity from about 5,000MW currently to 25000MW over three phases.
The PPI also has four objectives which include delivering improved power supply nationwide, providing training and capacity building for Nigerian youths, creating economic opportunities for Nigerian engineering companies, and stimulating inflow of additional investment into the power sector.