Egbin Power appoints Bounour CEO to drive transformations, energy transition
Oredola Adeola
The Board of Egbin Power Plc has announced the appointment of Mokhtar Bounour, as the new Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the largest privately run thermal plant in sub-Saharan Africa Nigeria. This was made known in a statement of the Board, obtained by EnergyDay on Tuesday.
According to the Board, Bounour’s appointment would accelerate Egbin’s ongoing transformation and propel the company’s energy mix transition towards enhanced environmental sustainability.
EnergyDay gathered that the Sahara Power Group Company, Egbin’s turnaround has tripled from a generation threshold of about 300mw when it was acquired in 2013 to almost 1000mw, following fresh investment in overhauls, technology, and human capital.
The company has also achieved 670,000kg of CO2 emission eliminated by reducing fossil energy consumption, 14.1% reduction in Energy Intensity of electrical energy, and over 1000 trees planted to safeguard the environment.
Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, in his statement confirming the appointment said, “With an installed capacity of 1320MW, our plan is to expand Egbin’s capacity using a mix of alternative clean energy sources. We are delighted to have Mokhtar join us to sustain our continuing transformation programme and our commitment to bringing more energy to life responsibly.
Adesina stated that Bounour would also lead plant optimisation strategies and spearhead the company’s Emissions Reduction and Resource Efficiency targets.
Mokhtar Bounour, new CEO Egbin Power PLC, speaking on his appointment, expressed delight in the opportunity to steer the future of the “iconic African power plant”, noting that his interactions with the Board indicate that “the future holds a firm promise of unparalleled growth and sustained world-class performance in Egbin.”
EnergyDay however gathered that Bounour holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, a Masters Degree in Management and Leadership, Business Administration and International Relations.
He has worked in Europe for the better part of his career, and prior to joining Egbin Power Plc, Bounour led Fertiberia Spain as CEO of Fertial and thereafter, became Business Development Director for Africa, Middle East, and Turkey.
With 24 years of experience across Africa, Europe and Middle East, Bounour has led multi-functional teams in EPC construction, Operations and Maintenance, Power generation, and Fertilizers plants. He is multilingual, being fluent in French, English, and Spanish – an attribute that is expected to further propel diversity at Egbin Power which has employees from different nationalities.
His experience cuts across setting strategic direction for revamping, rehabilitation, and management of change, contracts management, formulation, integration, and auditing with the implementation of effective customer coordination. Others include, sales, business development projects, engineering and turnover acceptance policies, procedures and systems management for organizations.
Reaffirming the company’s clean energy commitment, the Board of Egbin further revealed that its net-zero commitment manifests in several decarbonising projects, including enabling its employees to contribute to carbon-emission reduction through daily commuting on the company’s electric buggies, bicycles, and scooters, leaving employees healthier and the environment cleaner.
Egbin, a subsidiary of the Sahara Power Group, powers over 20 million homes and businesses.
