Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria will draw
up a shortlist of bidders over the next three weeks for power stations
and electricity distribution firms that the government is offering as
part of a multi-billion dollar privatisation plan.

Bolanle Onagoruwa,
director general of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), said
companies would be chosen for the six power stations and 11
distribution firms on their ability to reduce transmission losses in
the network.

“Over the next
three weeks, we should have the results of who the short-listed bidders
are before we then go to the actual submission of technical and
financial proposals,” Mrs. Onagoruwa told a news conference in the
commercial capital, Lagos.

President Goodluck
Jonathan, who faces an election on Saturday, has made ending chronic
power shortages in Africa’s most populous nation one of the
cornerstones of his campaign, and his administration is keen to show
progress with the plans.

Blackouts are a
major brake on growth in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy,
and the potential returns for investors in the country of 150 million
people are huge.

Utilities and
engineering firms from Europe, North America, India, and China are
among those that attended road shows in Dubai, London, New York, and
Johannesburg this year.

The BPE received
174 expressions of interest for the four thermal and two hydro power
stations, and 157 for the 11 distribution firms, in which investors
will be allowed to take stakes of up to 70 per cent.

Some industry
executives have said they are reluctant to make final commitments until
the outcome of the elections is clear and until they see that Nigeria
is able to implement a solid regulatory framework to govern the sector.

“We basically said
to them that the process has been designed in such a way that they
don’t have to pay their money until they have a clear idea of what the
next government will do,” Mrs. Onagoruwa said.

“So that gives them some confidence … They can start due diligence,” she told the news conference.

The ruling party
candidate has won every election in Africa’s most populous nation since
the end of military rule in 1999, and Jonathan is considered the
front-runner. But the opposition is hoping it can force a run-off.

Under the blueprint
for reform, power generation and distribution will be privatised.
Government will continue to own the national grid but its management
will be privatised.Reuters