23 March 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Kano State Government says it is spending N14 billion on its two ongoing Independent Power Projects, IPP, at Tiga and Challawa Dams.
The Managing Director of the Kano Hydro-power and Development Company, Alhaji Hamisu Abubakar, disclosed this when conducting some visiting journalists round one of the projects at Tiga dam.
Abubakar said the projects which were conceived in 2002 had to be to abandoned due to some problems, but that when completed, they would produce 13.7 megawatts.
“The projects were conceived in 2002 but were suspended because for sometime, the World Bank had wanted to expand the irrigation Scheme at the dam.
According to him, the state government had to scale down the number of megawatts from 35 megawatts because of the Federal Government’s irrigation projects.
“The civil works is in progress while the mechanical section is 99 per cent completed,”he said.
The managing director disclosed that state government had to take N10 billion soft loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to enable it to complete the projects as planned.
He said the projects which were expected to be completed in September, would be connected to the State Water Works to improve water supply to Kano and its environs.
He said the state government had also spent N1.6 billion on the construction of the 36-kilometer access road to Tiga dam.
The Commissioner of Information, Malam Mohammed Garba, said the projects were inherited from the former Rabi’u Kwankwaso administration.
Garba assured that the Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje administration would complete all the viable projects it inherited from the previous government with a view to improving the living condition of the people of the state, especially rural dwellers.
“The administration of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje is determined to complete all projects it inherited from the former administration provided it will impact positively on the common man,” the commissioner said.
