Kano to commission N14bn independent power project

Kano State government independent power project, Tiga, would commence generating electricity by the second quarter of this year, the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has assured.

Ganduje gave the assurance while inspecting the 10 megawatts project situated at Tiga Dam in Babeji Local Government Area of the state.

“On this project, we are highly confident, we are motivated, and we are being encouraged because the quality of the work is excellent. The speed of the work is very encouraging and we believe this company is equal to the task,” Ganduje said.

The governor noted that contract for evacuation of the generated energy would be awarded in a couple of weeks, expressing optimism that in the next three years, the state would have enough electricity for prospective consumers.

According to Ganduje, the only way to provide electricity to the state is through hydro and solar energy, maintaining that the project is necessary, because Kano is the most populous state in the nation and the commercial nerve centre for the North, whose development cannot be guaranteed without sustainable electricity.

Already, the state government has started discussion with some firms on how to tap electricity from solar energy, he said, hoping that this will solve the lingering factories closures and unemployment due to lack of power.

Conducting the governor round the project site, Gauhar Malik, who is the country head of projects, Skipper Nigeria Limited, reassured of completing the project by May 2016, noting that it had reached over 65 percent completion stage.

Earlier, Shehu Haruna Lambu, the state commissioner for works, said the contract was awarded in May 2014, with a completion time frame of one year, lamenting that due to unforeseen reasons, it was extended by an additional year.

Meanwhile, the governor has visited Sayaz Rice Mills in Garun Mallam Local Government Area of the state, where he appealed to the people to embrace farming, especially production of rice and wheat for profit and to enhance food security.

The governor, who warned that very soon, the Federal Government would stop importation of such commodities, pointed out that it was high time the people revert to agriculture because of it was money-spinning and had a wide potential for creating more jobs.