BPE Shorlists 16 Firms For Sales Of Power Plants

Sixteen firms have been pre-qualified for the privatisation of five National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) in the country, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh has said.

Okoh made the disclosure at the investor pre-bid conference for the privatisation of the five NIPP plants namely: Geregu, Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Calabar and Benin-Ihovbor which held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday, BPE said in a statement.

He listed the 16 pre-qualified bidders as: Mota-Engil Nig, Amperion Power, Sifax Energy, Pacific Energy Company Ltd and Globeleq Africa Limited.

The others are: Geoplex Drillteq Limited, Asfalizo Acquisition Ltd, Launderhill PJB, Lauderhill Tata, Unicorn Power Genco Ltd, Connaught Energy Services Ltd, ENL Consortium Ltd, Ardova Plc, Central Electric and Utilities Ltd, North South Power Consortium and Quantum Megawatt Consortium.

Earlier, Okoh noted that the power sector remains a viable investment in the country given the low per-capital Megawatts recording Nigeria.

He added that the interest shown by bidders and the opening up of the generation aspect of the power sector confirmed the vast opportunities abound in the sector and that the Bureau and other relevant stakeholders were committed to making the sector very sustainable.

Okoh revealed that the objectives of the pre-bid conference were to address possible questions from the prequalified bidders with regards to the transactions and provide clarity on some issues in the Transaction Documents as may be necessary.

He said the forum would also highlight the potentials in the Nigerian power sector and provide a platform for potential investors to understand the process for the privatisation of the NIPP power plants as well as to enable them adequately to prepare their bid documents.

He allayed the fears of potential buyers of some of the plants which have litigation issues, saying that such litigations were baseless and frivolous as the NPE and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) were empowered by the bids’ provisions under NIPPs transaction to terminate bids that violated the ground rules.

The event attracted critical stakeholders in the power sector including the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and Nigerian Bulk Trading Company (NBET).

Recall that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in April 2021 approved the adoption of a fast-track strategy for the privatisation of the five NIPP Plants.