The Transmission Company of Nigeria says it had so far received over N102bn ($655m) from both the Federal Government and international donor agencies to boost power transmission infrastructure across the country.
It also disclosed that the company would need $1.5bn annually for it to efficiently provide the 20,000megawatts of power target of the Federal Government by 2020.
The Director, Finance and Accounts, TCN, Sunny Iroche, stated that the Federal Government, through the ministry of finance, had been assisting the company in sourcing for funds.
He explained that the company had received some of the monies sourced for it by the government, adding that the funds would be meticulously used in developing strategic projects.
Iroche who spoke at the maiden press briefing by the Chairman of the TCN board, Ibrahim Waziri, said that “So far we’ve received $150m from the African Development Bank and we are in the process of getting $170m from French Development Agency.
“You are aware that the Federal Government, sometime last year borrowed $1bn… out of which $135m has been given to us and the monies are with the Central Bank of Nigeria and are for the improvement of transmission infrastructure.
“We also have $200m from the JICA (Japanese International Corporation Agency).”
The Managing Director, TCN, Mack Kast, said the company was sourcing for additional funds, stressing that Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure would gulp a lot of resources to become efficient.
Kast said that “Developing Nigeria’s transmission capacity to 20,000mw by year 2020 would require a significant amount of money and we are working hard to source for these funds. Our projections indicate that we would need between one to $1.5bn per year to make that a reality.”
He said TCN was working on a five-year expansion plan, adding that it had commenced an overall 20-year master plan that would enable it realise the Federal Government’s target in the transmission arm of the power sector.