President Muhammadu Buhari had directed the Ministry of Power to collaborate with the Egyptian government on the effective implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative, otherwise known, as the Siemens project.
The Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, receiving the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Ihab Moustafa Awad in his office.
The minister also disclosed that President Buhari had intimated to him that Egypt had successfully rehabilitated and restored its power sector through its collaboration with Siemens.
“The President had reasoned that obtaining more information from Egypt will enable our country to maximise our agreement with Siemens towards the total overhaul of our power grid and distribution systems”, he said.
Describing the visit of the Egyptian Ambassador as timely, Mamman assured that the ministry would leverage on the development, not only concerning the Siemens project but also on renewable energy which is highly needed to supplement our national grid.
The minister accepted the ambassador’s suggestion to visit Egypt for a better understanding of the Egyptian power sector and the deepening of collaboration in the other sectors within the Power value chain.
Earlier, Awad had revealed that since his assumption of duties, he has been visiting some key ministries in pursuit of areas of mutual collaboration.
He said, Egypt has a lot of experience and technical knowledge in the power sector to provide support to Nigeria in the rehabilitation of its transmission and distribution sectors.
Mamman said Egypt had successfully rehabilitated and restored its power sector through its collaboration with Siemens and that Nigeria would overhaul its grid through the deal with the German firm.
He was quoted in a statement as saying, “The President had reasoned that obtaining more information from Egypt would enable our country to maximise our agreement with Siemens towards the total overhaul of our power grid and distribution systems.”
In the statement, which was issued in Abuja by his media aide, Aaron Artimas, the minister assured his guest that the power ministry would leverage on the visit by the ambassador and his team.
He said the partnership would not only concern the Siemens project but would also touch on renewable energy, which was highly needed to supplement Nigeria’s electricity grid.
