Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria began a
series of investor roadshows for the planned multi-billion dollar
privatisation of its power sector on Tuesday, soliciting interest in
electricity distribution companies and power stations.

The Bureau of
Public Enterprises (BPE), the country’s privatisation agency, met with
investors in the commercial hub Lagos and will hold similar events in
Dubai, London, New York and Johannesburg over the next three weeks.

Africa’s most
populous nation, plagued by blackouts, wants to privatise power
generation and distribution. Government will continue to own the
national grid but its management will be privatised.

The investor
meetings come ahead of a February 18 deadline for expressions of
interest in 11 distribution companies, two thermal generating firms and
two hydropower stations.

They also come
ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in April. Some
investors have said they are reluctant to commit themselves until the
political uncertainty has cleared.

“The idea of this
is that it enables investors to gain some confidence. Even if we don’t
complete it before the handover of government, no harm is done,” BPE
Director General Bolanle Onagoruwa said.

“From the response
you have seen here, power is something that has attracted the interest
of most people in Nigeria. I don’t think any administration will come
in and not take the issue of reforms in the power sector seriously.”

Election

Goodluck Jonathan
unveiled the privatisation plans last August. Nigeria estimates it will
need $10 billion a year of investment over the next decade to meet its
energy needs.

Power blackouts are
a major brake on growth in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy
and Mr Jonathan has made ending them one of the cornerstones of his
election campaign.

Some executives
said while the elections may be delaying things on the Nigerian side,
with minds focused on campaigning, they had little impact on long-term
investment decisions.

“The election is
not holding us up … We will evaluate every opportunity and if it
makes sense we will invest,” said one Asian executive, asking not to be
named.

He said his company
felt “more comfortable” since Mr Jonathan’s victory in the ruling
party’s primary last week, which increased his chances of victory in
April.

Investors have praised the blueprint for reform but say its implementation, and regulation of the sector, will be key.

The 11 distribution
companies up for grabs are in the capital Abuja in central Nigeria, the
cities of Benin, Enugu, Eko, Ibadan, Ikeja, and Port Harcourt in the
south and those of Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola in the north.

The thermal power
stations are Ughelli Power Plc, in Delta State in the southern Niger
Delta oil region, and Geregu Power Plc in Kogi State in north-central
Nigeria.

The hydro power
companies, for which concessionaires are sought, are Kainji Power Plc
— comprising power stations in Niger and Kwara States in north-central
Nigeria — and Shiroro Power Plc, also in Niger State.