France’s Alstom has been awarded a contract worth about $54.6m (€50m) by China National Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNEEC) to provide turbines and technical services for Zungeru Hydropower Project, Nigeria’s largest hydropower plant under construction.
Zungeru is one of several hydro projects that are part of Nigeria’s Renewable Energy Master Plan. We are honoured to participate in such a grand agenda– Yves Rannou, Alstom Renewable Energies
Alstom will provide four 175 MW Francis turbine-generator sets and related equipment. Alstom Hydro China (AHC) is responsible for the equipment design, manufacturing, supervision to the installation, commissioning, testing as well as site services, Alstom said this week.
Located on the middle and upper reaches of River Kaduna near Zungeru in Niger state, Zungeru Hydropower Project will become the country’s largest hydropower project once operated, with 700MW installed capacity in total.
"Zungeru is one of several hydro projects that are part of Nigeria’s Renewable Energy Master Plan. We are honoured to participate in such a grand agenda," said Yves Rannou, Hydro Senior Vice President of Alstom Renewable Energies.
Construction on the $1.3bn power plant began in 2013 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017.
It is being built by CNEEC and China’s Sinohydro.
Seventy-five percent of the funding comes from China Export Import Bank and the remaining 25% by the Nigerian Power Sector Intervention Fund.
Last July angry youths from surrounding communities halted work in protest over what they claimed was unfair compensation for people displaced by the dam.
Photograph: Units manufactured by Alstom elsewhere, for China’s Xiangjiaba underground hydro power plant (Alstom)
