Nigeria in Need of $35 Billion to Produce 40,000 MW Electricity By 2020

Nigeria needs approximately $35 billion to get to the government target of 40,000 megawatts by 2020, the Director of Finance and Investment at Heirs Holdings, Mr. Sam Nwanze has said.  Nwanze stated this while addressing key members of the Nigerian and international public sector on how to attract strategic funding options to encourage sustained development of Nigeria’s power sector, during the opening plenary session of the Power Sector Workshop at the African Business Summit and Business Associations conference in Abuja.

Nwanze expounded on the market’s ability to attract the financing required for proper rehabilitation of the power sector.  He  advised, “When people hear that figure, they see problems. At Heirs Holdings, we see opportunities.”  During the power privatization programme, Heirs Holdings, through its investee company Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), took over the Ughelli power plant in Delta State in November 2013.

the statement added, “In less than three months under the management of TranscorpUghelli Power Limited (TUPL) the plant’s new owner, Ughelli Power more than doubled its generation capacity from 160mw to 360mw.”  Nwanze, who has over 15 years of experience across investment portfolios, strategy, financial control and performance management in private firms, added, “This kind of substantial progress, as well as TUPL’s pledge to increase power generation at the Ughelli plant to 2,000 MW within three to five years, shows that the private sector has the knowledge, resources and vision to successfully drive the power sector’s development.”

According to the Heirs Holdings director, it is possible for Nigeria to attract external financing to meet the power requirement.  He went on to say, “When we speak of the requirement for $35 billion, the amount looks huge, but it is achievable through long term financing and patient capital. This is essentially an Africapitalist approach to resolving our power challenges…. Heirs Holdings operates on this principle, which advocates partnership between the public and private sector through long-term, strategic investments that create economic prosperity and social wealth.”.

Source: allAfrica