The board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $210 million for the implementation of the Nigerian transmission Expansion Programme (NTEP) -1 projects by the Transmission Company` of Nigeria (TCN). The approval was conveyed in a board resolution at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan. NTEP is one of the projects under TCN’s Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme (TREP) is targeted at rehabilitating and expanding parts of the transmission grid in the North West, South South and the South East.
The project would reconstruct old transmission lines and build new ones as well as construct new substations, contributing to further increase in TCN’s transmission capacity. A statement by the General Manager (Public Affairs), Ndidi Mbah, TCN said the pre-qualification and evaluation of contractors are being done under TCN advance procurement scheme. Adopting the use of advance procurement in the execution of its projects, has given TCN lead time, reducing procurement period by 6months. “The procurement processes for the project is about 70% complete, meaning that execution of the projects under NTEP-1 would soon commence in earnest, even though it has just been approved by the AfDB board,” it noted.
The projects would address some transmission lines and substations requirements in the North West, South South and South East regions of the nation. In the North West, the projects that would be executed include the construction of 212KM Double Circuit 330kV Quad conductor (Kaduna to Kano); installation of 2x150MVA and 2x60MVA transformers and bay extensions in Zaria. Others are installation of 2x150MVA and 2x60MVA transformers with associated bay feeders and bay extensions in Kaduna Millennium city; installation of 2x60MVA transformers and outgoing feeders in Rigasa Kaduna; and the installation of 2x60MVA transformers and out-going feeders in jaji, Kaduna.
The substations would all have turn in and turn out transmission lines. In the South-South and Southeast, NTEP-1 would reconstruct the 107KM double circuit Delta-Benin transmission lines into a 330kV quad line; reconstruct the 138KM Alaoji- Ihiala – Onitsha Single Circuit line into 330kV Double Circuit Quad line. TCN noted that NTEP-2 which would execute projects mainly in the Northeast and parts of the central states of the nation is also in the pipeline and has reached advanced stage on the funding processing. The time frame for execution of all the NTEP-1 projects will be twenty-four (24) months after award of contracts.
