15-09-09 About $ 400 mm is to be invested in Phase One of Aba Independent Power Project (IPP), the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Geometric Power Limited Prof. Barth Nnaji has said.
He said this when a team from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), led by its Director General Dr Christopher Anyanwu, undertook a site visit of the project at Osisioma in Abia State.

A statement from BPE said Nnaji, a former minister of science and technology, explained that additional investment worth $ 50 mm would be made to the distribution system over the next three years, adding that the total investment in distribution would be $ 120 mm by the end of the first three years after commissioning.
The Aba IPP consists of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a natural gas-fired, thermal plant with adequate capacity for the distribution of power from the power plant to industrial, commercial, residential and rural consumers in Aba. It would supply electricity from the 188 MW plant to the ring-fenced area in Aba, adding that the enterprise which is a vertically integrated utility (generation and distribution) involves Aba IPP leasing the distribution assets of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

He said, "Aba IPP will improve the assets in order to deliver reliable and quality electricity from the plant to Aba electricity district," Nnaji said. Prof Nnaji said there is a strong demand and ability to pay within the captive area, putting the peak demand at 156 MW. He said residents/small commercial entities spend N 14.4 bn on generator fuel while large industrials spend N 43.2 bn on diesel fuel.
Nnaji, who is the president of Independent Power Producers Association of Nigeria, urged the Federal Government to encourage the replication of the Aba IPP model as a way to fast track sustainable solution to the power supply challenges in Nigeria.