The Managing Director,
Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Alhaji Usman Gur says the Federal
Government in collaboration with international donor agencies has set aside
over 1.61 billion dollars to ensure constant power supply in the country.
Gur, who is also the Chief
Executive Officer of the TCN revealed this on Sunday in Kano while briefing
newsmen at the Kumbotso power sub-station.
According to him, the project
will be carried out under the Transmission Rehabilitation Expansion Programme.
“We are rehabilitating and
expanding to degree 20, 000 Mega Watts by 2022 across the country,” he said.
He noted that, the federal
government has already earmarked about N32 billion to compensate Nigerians
whose lands, houses and farms could be affected by the Righ-Of-Way to create
Power Lines for the execution of the project.
“The total amount that we are
going to pay for compensation across the country is about N32 billion. And the
total project cost is 1.61 billion dollars. The project will be supported by
various international donors.
“The compensation for
right-of-way from Kumbotso sub-station to Rimi Zagara will cost about N3
billion. We have not completely validated it. The total cost for compensation
across the country being provided by the Federal Government, ” he said.
Gur who is also the chairman of
the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Committee Executive Board stated that he led
the TCN team to Kano to validate and look at the route that ran from the
Kumbotso Transmission sub-station to Rimi Zakara.
“You know we are going to connect
Rimi Zakara to this sub-station (Kumbotso). Rimi Zakara is the place we are
putting another 330 KV Sub-station, just like this one in Kumbotso.”
“The mistake that happened in the
past is that we normally award contract for line without doing the study. You
know the study will establish who are the people under the right-of-way; and
who are those people that are going to be affected by the lines.
“So, we are supposed to have come
up with those people and pay them their compensation.
“Unfortunately, this contract was
awarded many years, even before I came. It is not only this one, many of them
are like that. They awarded the contracts without the payment of compensation.
“That is why now, we are trying
to pay the compensation, we are validating it, but we also need to tell people
that this takes time, because right now, we have over 1000 people who need to
be compensated within Kano alone.
“That is why I am here, I will go
through the routes and see exactly what are in the right-of-way. We are
actually collaborating with Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje because some people who have
land on the right-of-way are seeking for relocation.
He further explained that those
projects, particularly, the one from Shiroro to Kaduna, the procurement of that
line is about 80 Per Cent completed and it is funded by French Development
Agency.
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