The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has pledged to restore the power plant at the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot-Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, saying the facility could contribute up to 540 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid when fully revived.
Adelabu made the commitment during a working visit to the company, emphasizing that the plant’s revival would not only enhance national power generation but also create about 15,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The minister lamented that, 37 years after its establishment, ALSCON had yet to deliver on its potential due to the absence of dedicated electricity supply, which had hindered the nation from maximizing the benefits of the huge investment.
He revealed that a temporary plan to connect the company to the national grid would be implemented while a long-term power solution is being developed.
Addressing the state of the abandoned 330kV substation in the community—constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and left about 90 percent completed—Adelabu expressed concern over its deterioration. He assured that the government would complete the project within the shortest possible time to fully optimize ALSCON’s potential.
The minister recalled that ALSCON was conceived in 1989 and completed in 1998, before being taken over by the Aluminium Smelting Company of Russia (RUSAL) following the 2006 privatization exercise.
“These huge investments have suffered due to lack of power supply in the last 27 years,” Adelabu said. “We are aware of the enormous potential of a facility like this in the upstream, midstream, and downstream conversion of aluminium, to create jobs for our youths, supply raw materials to local industries, and save foreign exchange spent on imports.”
He added that the project aligns with the government’s commitment to provide electricity to the majority of Nigerians by 2030, in line with Vision 2030 and the Tanzania Declaration.
“I have come to meet with stakeholders — the owners of the company, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), NDPHC, and the contractors — to devise immediate and medium-term solutions to ALSCON’s power challenges,” the minister stated.
