Osinbajo commissions Elumelu’s 240MW Afam three fast power plant in Rivers State
Oredola Adeola
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Outgoing Vice President has commissioned the Afam 3 Fast Power 240-megawatt turbine built by Transafam Power Limited, a subsidiary of Tony Elumelu’s Transcorp Group, located in Oyigbo, Port Harcourt, River State.
EnergyDay’s check showed that Transcorp acquired the power firm in 2017, following the approval of the national council on privatisation (NCP), during the power sector privatisation exercise. Transcorp Power Consortium, in 2020, completed the acquisition with the sum of N105 billion.
In 2021 adopted an integrated energy strategy with the investment of $300 million into the acquisition of 966MW Afam Power Plant Plc and Afam III Fast Power Limited, with a combined installed capacity of almost 2,000MW.
In January 2023, the company confirmed the upgrade of the plants from 48MW average generation in 2021 to 120 MW generation.
Osinbajo, who represented outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, in his remark during the commissioning ceremony on Tuesday, commended Transcorp Group for the strides made in Nigeria’s power sector.
He said, ” I had the honour of representing President Muhammadu Buhari at the official commissioning of the Afam Three Fast Power Project, which represents yet another remarkable power investment by Transcorp Power PLC, following the official delisting of the power firm from routine monitoring and evaluation by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
“The last few days, I must say, belong to Transcorp Power because at the same meeting of the NCP the council approved Transcorp Power consortium as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of the Abuja disco.
“One notable area of improvement that has been observed in our previous privatization processes is the deficiency in investment and new cash injections.
“However, there is now a shift in the tide, with indigenous power entrepreneurs like Transcorp Power and Heirs Holdings stepping up and making substantial investments.
” A prime example of this is their recent acquisition of the 966MW installed capacity Afam Power PLC and Afam Three Fast Power Limited (referred to as “Afam GenCo”) for a total cost of N105.3 billion.
Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Transcorp Group, during the unveiling, emphasised that electricity is the single most critical factor for lifting people out of poverty and enabling job creation.
According to him, we all experience the consequences of our power deficit, the implications for our people, our businesses, our schools, hospitals, institutions and our national destiny.
The Transcorp Chairman said, “When we took over the Afam Power plants in November 2020, the Vice President expressed his confidence in Transcorp’s ability to raise the capacity of the plants to full potential, highlighting our track record of success with our power plant at Ughelli.
“The journey has not always been easy – but we have delivered: capacity recovery, plant investment, infrastructure improvement, excellent community relationships, and a transformed and motivated workforce.
“Since its inception in 2006, Transcorp Group has led the way in demonstrating the success of successive privatisation programmes.
He, therefore, emphasised that the conglomerate is fulfilling its promises to the Government and demonstrating Transcorp’s purpose of “Improving Lives and Transforming Africa.
Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Power, who was represented at the occasion by Temitope Fashedemi, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, acknowledged that Afam Plc was taken over from the Ministry of Power by Transcorp with a capacity of 70MW, and has exceeded the capacity by recovering more than 100MW over the last 10 years.”
