The Federal Government has commenced structured development of the Ikom Multipurpose Dam and Hydropower Project under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
The Director-General of ICRC, Jobson Ewalefoh, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Ewalefoh said the move followed the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Project Development Committee (PDC) convened by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
The committee was established pursuant to resolutions reached at a high-level stakeholder meeting held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, where the Ikom Multipurpose Dam was designated a strategic national intervention.
At the meeting, a Project Steering Committee and a Project Development Committee were constituted to drive the development process, with the ICRC mandated to chair the PDC.
According to Ewalefoh, the assignment is significant and requires strong technical, regulatory and strategic coordination.
He said the dam had been designated a strategic national asset rather than merely a hydropower initiative.
”The project is designed as a multipurpose infrastructure intervention to control flooding, provide renewable energy, optimise water resources and support regional economic development.
”The responsibility of the committee is to guide the project from concept to bankability while protecting public interest and attracting credible private sector participation,” he said.
Ewalefoh outlined immediate next steps to include review and validation of existing feasibility and hydrological studies and clarification of the project scope.
He said that the committee would also determine the appropriate PPP structure and risk allocation framework and commence the process of appointing a transaction adviser.
The director-general further said that the committee would develop a clear project preparation roadmap to ensure transparency and compliance with national PPP standards.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the Ikom project would be structured as a sustainable, viable and commercially significant transaction capable of attracting credible private sector participation.
He said the project should also operate efficiently over the long term while delivering social and economic value.
Edun added that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria was strengthening economic reforms and building a system anchored on fiscal discipline and long-term value creation.
He said distortions that once threatened financial stability had been removed, creating stronger conditions for strategic investments.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Cross River Government and Ikom Power Limited.
Members of the Project Development Committee were drawn from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Water Resources and Power, the Cross River Government, ICRC, NSIA, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Ikom Power Limited.
The Ikom Multipurpose Dam is planned as a strategic intervention within the River Benue Basin to address recurring flooding while delivering about 250 megawatts of renewable base-load hydropower.
The project is also expected to enhance flood resilience, strengthen energy security, optimise water resources and stimulate economic growth in Cross River and adjoining regions.
As a presidential initiative, the Federal Government has activated a structured governance framework to ensure the project is developed transparently and responsibly in line with national PPP standards.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Deborah Coker
