The African Development Bank has approved a package worth US$100 million for the rehabilitation and upgrade of Nigeria’s 750-MW Kainji and 578-MW Jebba hydropower projects.
The plants have been operating below their potential, according to the AfDB, with an available cumulative capacity of about 917 MW. The modernization project will see their combined capacity increased slightly from their nameplate capacities to around 1,338 MW.
AfDB’s financing is part of its “New Deal on Energy for Africa”, which support’s Nigeria’s strategic priorities in energy diversification and improved access to electricity.
Feasibility studies for the overhaul were completed by RusHydro International AG in March 2014.
Kainji and Jebba are located on the Niger River and were completed in 1968 and 1984, respectively. Since then, they have proven to be Nigeria’s “cheapest and steadiest suppliers of electricity”, according to the AfDB.
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