Fashola begs power project contractors to go back to site

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, (SAN), has appealed to contractors handling transmission projects for Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPCH, projects across the country to go back to sites and ensure speedy completion of the projects....


The minister made this appeal at a meeting with the contractors in Abuja assuring that all their complaints would be resolved within a reasonable time frame. The minister noted that the purpose of the meeting was to share the concerns of the contractors handling various transmission projects with a view to assisting them in solving the problems confronting them in the execution of their projects and also to ensure their timely completion.

Fashola, further revealed that the meeting was also to ensure that those who abandoned their projects are immediately mobilized to go back to sites.

The minister also received briefing from the representative of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, on the status of their projects such as issues on evacuation on the Eastern axis, Alaoji- Ikot Ekpene 300KVA double circuit line, and the Switching Station at Ikot Ekpene.

The minister also received status report of the various on-going TCN projects across the country. A statement signed by an Assistant Director of Press in the ministry, Ibrahim Haruna, stated that both the minister and the contractors agreed on submission of a list of projects that have 70% and above completion status, but for which provisions were not made in the 2016 budget approved for TCN, to his office. According to the statement, they also agreed to provide a list of contractors who have assured the meeting about the completion of their projects before the end of 2016 and relevant information about their projects, and also contractors who have completed and handed over projects and details of such projects, but are yet to be paid.

The agreements reached at the meeting was that government will intervene in the cases of contractors that have their companies equipment stocked at the ports which have attracted accumulated port charges, but the responsibility of moving out such cargoes from the ports would be that of the owners.

The contractors were also tasked on the need for implementation of local contents, and also the use of products being manufactured in Nigeria such as Transmission Towers clamps and cables etc. as long as they meet the required standards and specifications.

It was also agreed that contractors that have unique issues to urgently meet with the management of TCN and make available details of such issues and furnish the office of the minister with relevant information. Responding, the Group President, Skipper Nigeria, Jitender Sachdeva, who spoke on behalf of the contractors, commended the minister, for reconvening the meeting, as the outcome will lead to increased power generation in Nigeria, thus it would create employment opportunities for the teeming youth. Sachdeva said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to increased power generation through the completion of transmission projects across Nigeria as power produced not evacuated would become useless, hence the group assured of increased power which will lead to improved supply in the country