Nigeria has announced that has opened bids for the construction of a 4000mw nuclear power plant. Plant would boost Nigeria’s present power generation capacity to 13,000mw.
The director general, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Dr Yau Idris, dropped the hint on Tuesday at the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
In furtherance of this, Nigeria has signed agreements with Russia, Pakistan, France and South Korea to build the capacity of the NNRA staff in operating the nuclear plants.
He said the plant would be the largest power plant in Nigeria if the bids are successful and construction is completed.
Dr. Yau Idris said it is wrong to think that Nigeria can’t manage a nuclear power plant. “There are mechanisms put in place that ensure any country can build a nuclear power plant.
“Nigeria is trying to deliver 4,000mw of electricity through nuclear power. We are trying to construct four units and we are at the bidding stage,” he said.
He added that the federal government has been trying to diversify Nigeria’s energy mix since 1977, adding that the 4,000mw plant would boost Nigeria’s present generation capacity to 13,000mw.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate had on Tuesday, removed the power generation, transmission and distribution from the exclusive legislative list in the ongoing constitutional review exercise.
The members of the upper legislative chamber passed a bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to allow states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the National Grid and for related matters.
Chidi Ekpewerechi
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