The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has called on the federal government to intervene in the delay of the completion of the Abuja transmission project, which has a 624megawatt capacity.
The project, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), commenced in April 2019 and was scheduled for completion in December 2022.
Speaking during an inspection of the project on Thursday, Olugbenga Ajiboye, Executive Director of Transmission System Provider, TCN explained that the project has reached 91 percent completion but issue of Right of Way is delaying its completion.
The project comprises of five substations, 143km of 330kV line from Lafia in Nasarawa State to Abuja, and 81km of 132kV transmission lines within Abuja.
He said, “It’s unfortunate that some Nigerians don’t see things as useful for all us. So many people are so determined that we will not pass where the line is supposed to be. And they are some powerful people.
“We will appeal to the people in government to please help us to appeal to them so that we can go through those routes and be able to get supply to the transmission stations. That is a major problem, this right-of-way issue.
“Two of the stations are completed and ready for energization. But because of the delay we have here, like Wumba, until we get supply, before we can get to the Apo-Wumba station. Also, the station in Kuje, the moment we are able to resolve the problem in Wunba, Kuje will get supply. So based on that, we will concentrate more on freeing the constraint we receive from the right-of-way to be able to put this place in because others are tied to it in downstream.”
He added that the project is not where it is supposed to be due to the challenges but assured that the company is working round the clock to make sure it is able to complete the project to power homes of those living in Abuja.
The Federal Capital Territory is also expecting an additional 350MW power from the NNPC power plant project which is being constructed.
According to Abdu Mohammed Bello, Managing director of Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), the ongoing 350MW NNPC’s Abuja Gas Independent Power Project (IPP) as a vital step toward achieving the national target of 8,500MW grid generation capacity by the end of 2026.
Bello who led the organization’s management delegation to the site, evaluated the current stage of construction and identified key areas for enhanced collaboration to accelerate project completion and timely commissioning.
The visit also included an inspection of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) implementation site at the Gwagwalada transmission substation.
The team expressed confidence that, before the end of 2026, the full electricity value chain, from generation through transmission to distribution will be integrated into a unified SCADA platform, enabling real-time visibility, improved grid monitoring, and enhanced system reliability and stability.
