The federal government has inaugurated an 11-member project delivery committee in a bid to bring the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) into full operation.
Bolaji Tunji, the special adviser on strategic communication and media relations to Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Mr Tunji said the committee comprises three members from ALCON, two from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), two members from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), two members each from the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Federal Ministry of Power.
ALSCON, incorporated in 1989, was originally a joint venture project between the Nigerian government and two foreign technical partners, Ferrostaal AG of Germany and Reynolds International Inc., US.
For over a decade, the company has been enmeshed in an ownership tussle between a Nigerian-American consortium, BFIGroup, and a Russian firm, UC RUSAL.
In July 2023, Vice President Kashim Shettima restated the determination of the Bola Tinubu administration to revive ALSCON, particularly by engaging with key stakeholders in the industry.
Last October, the Nigerian government vowed to reconnect ALSCON to the national grid in an effort to restart the joint venture asset.
In its terms of reference, Mr Tunji said the committee is expected to fast-track the connection of 132 kV transmission lines, ensure the completion of the Itu-Aba 132kV line, Itu-Calabar 132kV line, produce a status report and Single Line Diagram (SLD) of the 132k V Line, conduct joint commissioning of 132kV line, including funding requirements.
In addition to the 132kV project, he explained that the committee is also saddled with the connection of 330kV transmission lines to ALSCON by coming up with the funding requirements to complete the project, produce status project report and SLD of the 330k V Line, and conduct a joint commissioning of the project.
Inaugurating the committee in his office, according to the statement, Mr Adelabu emphasised the importance of the project, which he said would contribute to the economic growth and development of the country.
He said it was the desire of the federal government to see that ALSCON begins operation.
He charged all the agencies that are involved in revamping the company to work as a team “to ensure that it comes alive within a very short time”, while urging them to set up a practical working solution.
Mr Adelabu said if ALSCON comes back, it would impact the economy of the country very positively, noting that power is a critical enabler for continuous operation in the plant and could lead to economic growth.
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“It will increase local capacity and create jobs for our people. So, we need to accelerate its activities and avoid delays. We need a lot of collaboration and cooperation to achieve this desired result,” he said.
The representative of UC Rusal, the majority shareholder of ALSCON, Viacheslav Krylov, said the company was ready to work and collaborate with the federal government in addressing the challenges facing the power sector especially in the provision of electricity.
He revealed that ALSCON has an in-built 540 megawatts (MW) installed, gas-fired turbines for power generation, primarily for operations.
However, he added that the excesses would be transferred to the grid.
Mr Krylov emphasised the importance of an alternative power supply for emergency basis in order to guarantee continuous operation in the plant when the gas supply line is disrupted, thus the need for grid connection.
