Multi-million-dollar deal to light up Lagos

Lagos State and a US power company have signed a US $800-million deal to supply electricity to some eight million residents of Nigeria's largest metropolitan area and commercial hub, according to news reports. The project, signed on Friday by Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu and officials of Enron Power Nigeria Ltd., will be done in two phases. In the first, some 90 megawatt (mw) of electricity will be generated between now and October, `The Guardian' newspaper reported on Monday. This is equivalent to 20 percent of the total power supplied to the state by the Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA), a poorly performing state firm. Phase two will involve the building of a new 5609-mw gas turbine power plant. A 280-kilometre, 24-inch natural gas pipeline will be built to supply the station. The entire project is expected to create at least 2,500 jobs in the long term, AFP reported, quoting Lagos State officials. They say they have signed the deal because they cannot wait for the promised improvement in power supplies from NEPA. NEPA's installed capacity is around 6,000 mw, but because of poor maintenance and mismanagement, it generates only 1,600 mw, AFP said, well below a national demand estimated at 2,470 mw.