FG targets bankable PPP structure for Ikom multipurpose dam project

The federal government has begun moves to structure the proposed Ikom Multipurpose Dam and Hydropower Project as a bankable public-private partnership (PPP), with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) convening the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Project Development Committee (PDC).

In a statement issued on Thursday by Ifeanyi Nwoko, acting head of media and publicity at the ICRC, Jobson Ewalefoh, director-general of the commission, said the project has been designated a strategic national asset and goes beyond power generation.

Ewalefoh said the meeting marks the formal commencement of the project’s structured development under Nigeria’s PPP framework.

The committee was constituted following resolutions reached at a high-level stakeholder meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where the Ikom Multipurpose Dam was designated a strategic national intervention.

At the meeting, the government approved the establishment of a Project Steering Committee (PSC) and a Project Development Committee (PDC), with the ICRC mandated to chair the PDC and lead the technical and regulatory process required to prepare the project for private sector participation.

The inaugural meeting was attended by the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, representatives of the federal ministries of water resources and power, the managing director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), representatives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), officials of the Cross River State government, and representatives of Ikom Power Limited.

Ewalefoh described the initiative as a multipurpose infrastructure intervention designed to address flooding, generate renewable energy, optimise water resource management and stimulate regional economic development.

According to him, the committee’s mandate is to guide the project from concept to bankability while ensuring that public interest is protected and credible private sector investors are attracted.

He said immediate priorities include the review and validation of existing feasibility and hydrological studies, clarification of project scope and optimisation considerations, determination of an appropriate PPP structure and risk allocation framework, commencement of the process for appointing a transaction adviser, and the development of a clear project preparation roadmap.

The minister of finance said the Ikom dam project must be structured as a sustainable and commercially viable transaction capable of attracting credible private sector participation and operating efficiently over the long term.

He added that reforms undertaken by the federal government have strengthened Nigeria’s economic fundamentals and created a more stable environment for long-term infrastructure investment.

Members of the Project Development Committee are drawn from the federal ministries of finance, water resources and power, the Cross River State government, the ICRC, NNPC Limited, NSIA, and Ikom Power Limited.

The Ikom Multipurpose Dam is planned as a strategic intervention within the River Benue basin to help address recurring flooding while delivering about 250 megawatts of renewable baseload hydropower.

The project is also expected to enhance flood resilience, strengthen energy security, optimise water resources, and support economic growth in Cross River State and surrounding regions.

As a presidential initiative, the federal government has put in place a structured governance framework to ensure the project is developed transparently and in line with national PPP guidelines.