Dennis Udoma, Uyo
Akwa Ibom State has signed a power production agreement with African Delta Power Limited for 366 MW to be added to the existing 191 MW at Ibom power plant in Uyo.
Signing the agreement on behalf of the State Government was the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uko Udom, SAN.
The Board Chairman of Ibom Power, Engr. Etido Inyang and Secretary of Ibom Power Company, Barr. Ime Asibong signed for Ibom Power, while Jemeriah Oluwaseun and Christabel Nwagum, CEO and Secretary of African Delta Power respectively, signed on behalf of African Delta Power.
Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem said, the new pact with the company will improve the aggregate power capacity of the gas turbine units, which are capable of producing up to 732 Megawatts of power as Ibom Power currently has an on-grid license for 685MW.
He said, the agreement was “not an MoU but a step further, which has transited the MoU phase,” adding that, the proposed power project is under the ‘Power for All’ initiative of Governor Udom Emmanuel, which was inaugurated two years ago by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The SSG however, urged the African Delta Power team to speed up the processes of implementation by abiding to the roadmap agreed to by the State Government on the project.
Also speaking, Engr. Inyang said, the first phase of Ibom Power was already operational with an installed capacity of 191MW.
He said Ibom Power has a license to generate 685 Megawatts of power which the proposed power plant would leverage on.
The Board Chairman revealed that, the company had received many bids from several investors that had shown interest to partner Ibom Power for its Phase 2 but that only the African Delta Power has proven to be outstanding.
He said, their technical partners have been supportive and that they have seen the turbines that are coming in. “We have seen that they have evidence of funding that will be deployed in the installation of these turbines and they are going to commence groundbreaking within the first week of June,” he stated.
The Managing Director of Ibom Power, Engr. Meyen Etukudo, in his remarks, expressed satisfaction over the ‘mutually rewarding’ agreement for all the parties, insisting that it has great prospects for the future.
The Phase 2 of Ibom Power, according to him, would ensure that the company continues to break more grounds, adding that, the contractor was ready to be deployed with their foreign technical partners from the United States.
Oluwaseun, who led his team consisting of the General Manager (GM)-Operations, Kelechi Samuel Anyamele; GM-Admin, Christabel Nwagum and the CLO, Etim Ayara, said that Akwa Ibom was selected for the project because the state had the prerequisites for the project. In his words, Akwa Ibom State “has the gas, a welcoming environment, good partners and a state government that is willing to go ahead with the project.”
