Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe has announced that Nigeria’s $2 billion plan to construct an East-West supergrid will be ready within the next two years.
In a recent TV interview on Monday, Tegbe revealed that the procurement process for the project has already commenced and the government is exploring private sector participation in transmission alongside efforts to raise overall generation capacity to 20,000 megawatts citing potential partnerships with private investors like Aliko Dangote.
The Minister explained that the project will be ready within two years if funding hurdles are resolved noting that the project is an ambitious $2 billion intervention to reduce pressure on the existing national grid.
The Minister further revealed that the government is embarking on hydropower plans include developing 21 dams identified along the Sokoto-Badagry corridor under a small hydropower initiative and renewing attention on the Mambila hydroelectric project, which holds the potential to generate 3,000 megawatts.
He also explained that the implementation of the Electricity Act 2023 has served as a major catalyst for the sector, decentralising regulation and empowering states such as Lagos, Ogun, Abia, and Enugu to develop their own electricity markets, pursue gas-fired generation and mini-grid projects, and engage in bilateral electricity transactions.
While acknowledging that surging demand driven by population growth, digital expansion, and artificial intelligence requires sustained effort, the Minister assured Nigerians that tangible and significant improvements in electricity supply will materialise across the country over the next three to five years.