The Federal Government has issued license permit to Messrs Winners Power Gardens Limited, a private investor, to construct dam for hydro-electric development.
The dam, which is expected to produce 30 mega watts of electricity, would be built at River Okura, located close to Ofejiji village in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Presenting the permit certificate to the company, on Thursday in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Musa Istifanus, represented by the Director of Irrigation and Drainages of the Ministry, Engr. Joe Kwanashie, said the gesture was part of Federal Government’s efforts to improve electricity generation in the country.
Istifanus said the Federal Government in 2013 privatised the power sector to encourage private entrepreneurs to invest in the sector.
The Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Commission since then issued out licenses to three successful applicants.
He said: “In order to meet the increasing demand for electricity in Nigeria, Mr. President launched the privatization of the power sector in September, 2013.
“Hydro-power was considered as one of the major means of increasing the generation of electricity, hence the commission issued license to three concessioners of three hydro-electric dams: Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro all in Niger Central Catchment Area.
“It is in the same vain that we are gathered here today to add another developer to the earlier ones – in the persons of Messrs Winners Power Garden Limited.”
In his remarks, the Coordinating Director of the Commission Engineer, Rueben Habu, said Messrs Winners Power Garden Limited and the three others that had earlier received their license permit for the development of water sector have shown commitment towards increasing the hydro-electric power in the country.
Habu said the Commission would work with genuine private investors to develop water sector that would improve electricity generation in Nigeria.
In his response, the Chairman of Winners Power Garden Limited, Dr. Jacob Abdullahi, said the power project and other opportunistic investments have the capacity to provide more than 10,000 jobs apart from the indirect jobs that would be provided by the companies to be sighted at the location.
He added that electricity to be generated would be distributed within the locality in order to reduce the load on the national grid and to enhance efficiency in power sector.
“By this gesture of the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure adequate power supply through renewable energy, Winners Power Garden Limited will leave no stone unturned in constructing more hydro power plants within our embedded zone as the energy needs increase,” he explained.