The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said on Monday that N160 billion investment was required annually to achieve improvement in power transmission network.
Nebo spoke in Abuja at the Nigeria Society of Engineers Expert Group Meeting on Developing Infrastructural Ranking and Scorecard Roadmap.
He said that vandalism and obsolete infrastructure were some of the major impediments to the development of effective power transmission network for the nation.
He said: “The transmission network is the life-blood of the entire electricity eco-system and currently, it is proving to be a weak link in the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
“Transmission infrastructure is outdated and many of the equipment are in poor shape due to neglect during the NEPA/PHCN era.
“It is expected that the transmission network will require a minimum investment of $1 billion (about N160 billion) a year over the next few years to meet current demands and position itself towards global competitiveness.”
The minister announced that the Transmission Company of Nigeria was discussing with a number of potential investors towards building a solid transmission network for the country.
Earlier, the President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, Ademola Olorunfemi, said that the NSE Presidential Expert Group Meeting was part of its contribution to drive Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution.
Olorunfemi said that the NSE Infrastructural Ranking and Scorecard Report would be conducted using world class methodology developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
He said: “The scorecard being proposed by the NSE and all Nigerian engineers in unison, will upgrade the state of infrastructure in all sectors.
“The NSE would, every four years, evaluate every major infrastructure in Nigeria, using a simple A to F school report card format.
“It will provide policy makers an empirical guide in making choices and investment decisions with respect to infrastructure development.”
The NSE president said the report of the Expert Group Meeting was expected within the next 12 months.
The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministries of Transport and Water Resources, as well as international experts in power generation, distribution and transmission.