Sokoto’s 38MW IPP trudges on 5 years after

The Sokoto State government had in 2008, signed a contract with a United States based energy company, Vulcan Capital Energy, to build an IPP at the cost of N3.8b. The plan was to complete the project, which will boost power supply by 38megawatts, in six months, but it kept dragging. Now both government officials and […]

The Sokoto State government had in 2008, signed a contract with a United States based energy company, Vulcan Capital Energy, to build an IPP at the cost of N3.8b. The plan was to complete the project, which will boost power supply by 38megawatts, in six months, but it kept dragging. Now both government officials and the contractors say the project will be completed before the end of this year so that it will be commissioned in the first quarter of next year.
The contract was to be executed through the company’s subsidiary partner, Vulcan Elvaton Limited, an Abuja based firm. The deadline for the contract was first shifted to September 2009; later to December 2010. The goal post kept changing “due to unforeseen circumstances”, an official said.
The project, located at Arkilla area of Sokoto metropolis, is to generate 38MW of electricity to the state. Though it suffered delays, the state government says it is very much on course and that it will soon be actualized.
 All the basic equipment for the power generating unit such as the turbine and generator, among others, are now at site, Daily Trust can report. Chief Operations Officer Vulcan Elvaton Ltd, Prince Franklyn told our reporter at the moment all the major equipment on ground. “We are on installation as I speak with you. These are power plant equipment -turbine, generator and all accessories,” he said.
“This morning we are informed that the exhaust stack which is another component of the plant has arrived Lagos, it will take about four days to get done with clearing and because of the hugeness of the equipment and the nature of our roads, it will take another four days to get it to Sokoto. So we are looking at over a week to get that unit here,” Mr Franklin added.
He explained that the turbine and the generator are already installed on the base and that another smaller foundation for the coolant and others is being awaited.
 “It takes about 17 days, minimum, for it to cure. They are heavy equipment and they need to cure properly before you can mount anything on it, if not you go back to square one. A very important part, the coolant has been coupled. We are just waiting for the foundation to be ready so that we mount it,” he said.
However, the operations officer said the company hopes to complete the project by end of 2013, all things being equal, and get it ready for commissioning by the first quarter of 2014.
 The state government also said the project is on course and officials are determined to complete it. Alhaji Sahabi Isa Gada, Secretary to the Sokoto state government and chairman implementation committee of the state’s IPP, said Sokoto is making headway.
 “We believe we will have enough electricity for Sokoto when we finish this project,” he declared.  Speaking to Daily Trust in Sokoto, Gada said according to government’s plan, the project may be completed by December. “It is moving very, very well, from their work plan, in two months’ time it will come to completion. We’re making headway,” he stated.
 Speaking further, he said: “Sokoto from my estimation requires about 60 megawatts of power but what is coming from the national grid is just about 15 megawatts. Now this project we are doing is for about 38 megawatts, so when you add 38 to 15 you get 53 megawatts. And by the time we finished, there may be improvement from the national grid since it has now been sold; may be private hands can now give us improved light.”
The SSG said 80 -90 percent of the components required are on ground, stressing that almost 95 percent of the components are foreign. He also explained that sometimes delays are experienced in moving components to site especially when dealing with very heavy equipment.
 When Daily Trust sought to know the type and source of fuel that will run the turbine, Gada said the machine is convertible; therefore it can be run using the cheapest and available oil.
“At the end of the installation, we will decide; it could be diesel, it could be black oil, it could be liquefied natural gas. Gas is cheaper but getting it here will be a little bit difficult. We are looking at many possibilities, but when we come to the installation, it will be decided. We are already talking to some companies that would provide either black oil or gas. Diesel will be too expensive,” he said.