Alex Okoh, director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), says the federal government has pre-qualified 16 firms for the privatisation of five National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).
In a statement issued on Thursday, Ibeh Chidi, head, public communications, BPE, said Okon announced this at the recent investor pre-bid conference for the privatisation of the five NIPP plants.
The five NIPP plants are Benin Generation Company Limited at Ihovba, Edo state; Calabar Generation Company Limited, Cross River state; Geregu Generation Company Limited, Kogi state; Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, Ogun state and Omotosho Generation Company Limited, Ondo state.
Okoh listed the pre-qualified bidders as Mota-Engil Nig, Amperion Power, Sifax Energy, Pacific Energy Company Ltd., and Globeleq Africa Limited.
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Others are Geoplex Drillteq Limited, Asfalizo Acquisition Limited, Launderhill PJB, Lauderhill Tata, Unicorn Power Genco Limited, Connaught Energy Services Limited, and ENL Consortium Limited.
The rest are Ardova Plc, Central Electric and Utilities Ltd, North South Power Consortium and Quantum Megawatt Consortium.
The BPE DG said the power sector remained a viable investment in the country, given the low per-capita megawatts in Nigeria.
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He said the interest shown by bidders and the opening up of the generation aspect of the power sector confirmed that vast opportunities abound in the sector.
He added that the BPE and other relevant stakeholders were committed to making the sector sustainable.
Okoh explained that the objectives of the pre-bid conference were to address possible questions from the prequalified bidders regarding the transactions and provide clarity on some issues in the transaction documents as necessary.
He also said that the forum would highlight the potential in the Nigerian power sector and provide a platform for potential investors to understand the process for privatisation of the NIPP power plants and enable them to adequately prepare their bid documents.
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“This event is a continuation of the federal government’s reform of the power sector with the aim of ensuring that assets within the sector are fully utilised and transformed into world-class facilities through the injection of private sector capital and deployment of more efficient and technical capacity,” the statement reads.
He allayed the fears of potential buyers of some of the plants over litigation issues.
He added that the litigations were “baseless and frivolous as the BPE and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) were empowered by the bids’ provisions under NIPPs transaction to terminate bids that violated the ground rule”.
In April 2021, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) approved the adoption of a fast-track strategy for the privatisation of the five NIPP plants.
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The council also approved the engagement of CPCS Consortium as the technical adviser for the 100 percent sale of the five power plants, in line with the policy of divesting government shares from thermal generating plants.
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