Posted by By Luka Binniyat on
THE Federal Government would require $36 billion from the private sector to meet its electricity needs in the next ten years even as it has introduced initiatives at encouraging foreign and domestic private sectors in the energy sector.
THE Federal Government would require $36 billion from the private sector to meet its electricity needs in the next ten years even as it has introduced initiatives at encouraging foreign and domestic private sectors in the energy sector.
Already, Austria has indicated interest in investing $5 billion into the Nigeria Energy sector once Nigeria has a comprehensive Gas policy conducive to Austria's investors.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe disclosed this to the Press in Abuja last week after returning with a Nigerian delegation to Austria on energy investment drive.
He told the Press that Nigeria is bent on seeing that a ripe atmosphere for massive foreign investment is put in place so that by the last quarter of next year, foreign investors would start trooping in.
'Investment in Gas infrastructure is a huge one," he said, 'no one is going to bring in billions of dollars if he is not covere4d by an attractive policy, incentive, physical security and good return on his investment," he said.
He said that it is in line with that that the Nigerian Gas Bill will be passed into law very soon, and an integrated study on Nigerian gas wealth and sundry issues is being sponsored by the World Bank at a cost of nearly $10 million.
He also pointed out the Nigerian Government encouraging gas utilisation through the funding of seven medium power plants in the Niger Delta to increase the electric power generation to 10,000 megawatts by 2007, which according to him will eventually be run by private sector operators.
Speaking further on Government's initiative in the energy sector, Adegbulugbe said they include 'the ongoing privatisation of the refineries, the gas to power projects, the ongoing unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the provision of incentives for private investment in Independent Power Plants (IPP).
'Put in mind that government is standing firm that there must be no gas flaring by 2008", he said, 'all this is to encourage gas utilisation in the country."
On Austria, he said that its government is keen on facilitating its private investors to participate actively in investment in the Nigerian energy sector.
To fast track this noble initiative, both governments have agreed to set up a task force of government and private sector officials to visit Nigeria in February, 2006 towards exploring investment opportunities and possibilities in the sector.
The delegation was received by the Austrian Prime Minister on Capital Markets and Special Austrian Government Projects, Dr. Richard Schenz who assured the Nigerians that the task force will comprise of representatives of Austria's ten top energy companies, engineering firms and investment bankers, said the Presidential Adviser on Energy.
He said that Dr. Schenz who is also Vice-President, Austrian Economic Chamber and former Chief Executive of the Austrian oil giant, OMV, said that the privatisation policy and other economic reforms being carried out by Nigeria are capable of attracting investment into the country, and called on the Nigerian government to remove bottlenecks that may hamper investors' entry into Nigeria.
The Nigerian delegation was in Austria at the invitation of Austrian government and private investors to enable the two countries hold bilateral consultations with private investors, and see how Austrian technology and capability could be of assistance to the revitalization efforts of the Nigeria government.