Nigeria’s minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said that the first phase of the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), will witness creation of 11,000 direct and indirect jobs, as well as ensure increase of electricity supply to 40 million people in the country.
The minister stated this at the flag-off of the PPI training on network development studies by FGN Power Company in Abuja last Monday. “The first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative will provide over 40 million people with more reliable electricity supply, create 11,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians from power system engineers to electricians and contractors, and this will in turn improve the standard of living while providing homes and businesses with constant, reliable and affordable electricity supply,” she said.
Zainab said the board members are the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing and Justice, as well as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE.
The minister who is also the chairman of the board of FGN Power Company, a firm established to coordinate the Siemens power project, explained that the PPI empowers engineers with tools and training on network modeling and system development studies.
In his comments, the minister for power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, said in 18 months, the Siemens project will add 2,000 megawatts, MW, to the national grid, raising it to 7,000MW.
“The objective of the PPI is to increase the end-to-end grid operational capacity of the power system in Nigeria to 25 gigawatts, GW, but the focus in the next 18 months, it will deliver the first additional 2000MW,” the power minister.
Aliyu who was represented by the minister of state for power, Engr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, said the Siemens project will create a rapid transformation in the on-grid electricity value chain, spur economic growth, create jobs and opportunities for Nigerian youth and enterprises.
The chief executive officer of FGN Power Co, Kenny Anuwe, said the training is the first Power System Simulation Software (PSS) session under the Power Technology International (PTI) from Germany.
According to him, the training would cut across the power sector value chain comprising the generation, transmission and distribution to be handled by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, NAPTIN.
“Suffice to say that the training will happen over the next four years and so there will be different levels of training,” Anuwe said.
Officials of Siemen assured that the trainers are already in Nigeria. Project director at Siemens Energy in Nigeria, Sean Manley, said the company is excited seeing to the successful implementation of the first phase of this project.
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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