Dangote plans 10,000mw intervention, FG unveils 24-hour energy zones

President/Chief Executive Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has introduced plans to extend the group’s funding programme in Africa from $50 billion to about $70 billion beneath its Vision 2030, with a serious intervention in electrical energy technology to help industrial progress, to the tune of 10,000-megawatts.

This is coming amidst plan by the federal authorities to unveil a four-pronged roadmap to repair Nigeria’s energy sector, with Lagos-Ogun and Abuja set to pilot 24-hour vitality zones.

…Dangote

Addressing artistic business stakeholders Thursday from Northern Nigeria, together with content material creators, journalists, bloggers, entertainers and Kannywood stars in Lekki, Lagos, Alhaji Dangote stated increasing manufacturing, creating jobs and offering dependable electrical energy had been important to unlocking Nigeria’s financial potential.

He recognized insufficient energy provide as a serious impediment to the survival of small and medium-sized enterprises, warning that companies depending on petrol and diesel mills would wrestle to stay worthwhile.

Dangote stated the group was contemplating a ten,000-megawatt energy programme throughout Africa, probably together with Nigeria, alongside an growth of the producing capability devoted to its personal operations.

“We initially planned to invest $50 billion. We are now looking at increasing that to about $70 billion in Africa,” he stated.

Explaining the ambition behind Vision 2030, Dangote stated African companies should take larger accountability for investing within the continent and addressing the infrastructure constraints that discourage different buyers.

According to him, inconsistent authorities insurance policies and unreliable electrical energy stay vital limitations to funding. He stated the group had largely addressed the ability problem inside its operations by producing its personal electrical energy.

“Across the group, we at the moment have nearly 1,500 megawatts. By the time we full Vision 2030, that might rise to between 4,500 and 5,000 megawatts.

“That is captive power—electricity for our own operations. Separately, part of the vision is to intervene in power generation with 10,000 megawatts across Africa, potentially including Nigeria,” he stated.

Responding to a query concerning the financial resolution that will most enhance the lives of extraordinary Nigerians, Dangote positioned electrical energy on the centre of the nation’s improvement wants.

He argued that particular person households and corporations putting in different energy methods wouldn’t, by itself, resolve the broader financial downside.

“Installing solar power for yourself does not mean the wider problem has been solved. Other people may not have that option,” he stated, including that “A vibrant economy is driven by small and medium-sized enterprises. Large companies such as ours help sustain those businesses, but SMEs are essential to economic activity. When you generate electricity using diesel or petrol, it becomes very difficult to make money.”

Dangote expressed confidence in Nigeria’s entrepreneurial energy, saying the nation had but to understand the total advantages of its giant and dynamic economic system.

He stated companies had a accountability to take a position and create alternatives, whereas authorities ought to think about offering insurance policies and circumstances that permit enterprises to develop.

“Government’s principal responsibility is to create an enabling environment through good policies. With the right policies, businesses can invest and create jobs,” he stated.

The industrialist recognized agriculture and stable minerals as areas with substantial potential, notably in Northern Nigeria, however harassed that the nation should transfer past exporting unprocessed sources.

He stated funding in infrastructure, together with ports, might open markets for different producers and make it simpler for companies to develop and export their merchandise.

“It is just not solely about us; it’s about Nigeria and the African continent.

“We should not simply export raw materials and then buy back the processed products at many times the price. That is the pattern we want to change. Without production, we will continue to face economic difficulties. We must build a productive economy,” he stated.

…Lessons from his enterprise profession

Sharing classes from his enterprise profession, Dangote attributed the group’s growth to focus, monetary self-discipline and the constant reinvestment of earnings.

He stated the transition from buying and selling to manufacturing was constructed round merchandise the group already understood, supported by established clients, distribution networks and market data.

“The logical next step was backward integration: producing the things we were already importing,” Dangote stated.

Dangote additionally urged entrepreneurs to keep away from spending anticipated income and to recognise when a enterprise was now not commercially viable.

“Give it your best effort, but when you do the numbers and they are not adding up, you must be willing to leave,” he stated.

Despite the challenges dealing with companies, he maintained that the group would proceed investing and inspired smaller enterprises to construct alternatives round main industrial tasks.

“People like us will continue investing. People like you can build businesses around those investments—as suppliers, producers and service providers,” he stated.

…FG’s deliberate 24-hour energy zones

Announcing comparable plan, Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe  stated the federal authorities was planning a 24-hour energy with Lagos-Ogun and Abuja as pilot schemes.

Tegbe spoke Thursday in Abuja on the opening of the Sixth Annual Conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PCAN), themed “$1 Trillion Economy: Nigeria’s Roadmap to Reliable and Affordable Power Supply.”

“Every serious conversation about Nigeria’s industrial future eventually arrives at the question of power,” he stated.

The roadmap’s pillars are Grid Stabilisation, Sector Liquidity and Sustainability, Asset Optimization, and Expansion and Enhancement of the grid.

Tegbe stated it centres on “a corridor approach that prioritises major load centres” for round the clock provide. A technical audit has been commissioned to set a diagnostic baseline. The corridors are Lagos-Ogun, Benin-Enugu-Port Harcourt, and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano.”

The minister stated the Lagos-Ogun axis and the Abuja franchise space, “both accounting for over 50% of national demand,” will pilot the 24-hour zones, “guided by technical readiness and commercial viability.”

On funds, Tegbe stated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “approved a ₦3.3 trillion plan to verified legacy debts owed to generating companies,” including that “we have raised ₦1.23 trillion under that plan.”

He stated over 2.8 million clients have been metered beneath the Presidential Metering Initiative, whereas transmission capability of greater than 15,000MVA was added between 2023 and October 2026.

In the previous two months, he stated, “newly put in substation gear including over 1,300MVA was commissioned in areas together with Ikeja, Apapa, Ijora and Kumbotoso.

“Work has also started on a new National Grid Control Centre in Osogbo to replace the old one, built over 60 years ago.”

Tegbe stated a coordinated anti-vandalism marketing campaign involving safety businesses, backed by a stronger authorized framework, has been accepted.

He urged journalists to play their educative function by “giving citizens the facts they need to form their own judgements.”

…Funding grid improve

Also talking, the Managing Director/CEO of FGN Power Company Limited, Kenny Anuwe, stated the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which goals so as to add 5,540MW of wheeling capability by 2029, will probably be funded largely by overseas lenders.

Anuwe stated 85 per cent of the programme comes from export credit score businesses and improvement finance establishments, with the federal authorities offering the remaining 15 per cent.

Under the construction, the FGN Power Company Ltd MD stated, the Federal Ministry of Finance is borrower and guarantor, whereas funds are on-lent to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the distribution firms (DisCos).

The backers embrace Sinosure, China Exim Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, Commerzbank, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and Bpifrance.

According to him, Sinosure’s dedication is at $1bn and that of Bpifrance and different European businesses at $1.3bn.

“The Africa Finance Corporation, the advisor, additionally pledged $1bn. At least $1bn of capital lets FGN Power safe additional personal and ECA lending, Anuwe stated.

He stated the pilot section had delivered 1,080MW by way of 10 energy transformers and 10 cellular substations, backed by €60.4m.

Phase I is beneath means, with Siemens Energy constructing 5 brownfield substations value 984MW at New Abeokuta, Ayede, Offa, Onitsha and Sokoto. An additional 16 transmission traces spanning 606.5km are deliberate, with monetary shut focused for Q1 2027 and supply operating to This fall 2028.

“A pipeline of 3,376MW follows, made up of 12 Batch Two substations (2,400MW) and the Epe and Omotosho special project (976MW),” he stated.

Anuwe put the financial payoff at about 60 per cent extra hours of dependable electrical energy, 2,000 industries returning to the grid and over 10,000 direct jobs.

He additionally cited 500,000 MSMEs within the protection areas, 152 public amenities, together with hospitals, with higher entry, and 116 million folks throughout the programme’s attain.

Anuwe additionally  stated the programme would lower reliance on fossil-fuel technology by about 30 per cent and scale back emissions by 7–8 million tonnes of CO₂ equal a 12 months.

“Transmission investment alone cannot guarantee better supply; it must reach homes, businesses and communities. Three contractor lots will build distribution injection substations and lines across the DisCos,” he stated.

…Gas provide, hydro dip

Earlier, the PCAN chairman, Mr. Obas Esiedesa, referred to as for sustainable preparations to ensure gasoline provide to thermal energy vegetation between November and March, when hydropower technology usually falls.

He stated the recurring seasonal decline “has continued to undermine efforts to realize secure electrical energy provide.

“Reduced water inflows into hydroelectric power stations often affect generation, while gas supply constraints to thermal power plants further compound the problem,” he stated.

Esiedesa urged the federal government, regulators, technology firms and gasoline suppliers to strengthen collaboration on the problem.

“No economy can sustainably attain significant growth without adequate and dependable power supply to support industries, businesses and households,” he stated.

He listed “inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, liquidity challenges, investment gaps, regulatory uncertainties” among the many points to be addressed.

On the decentralised electrical energy market beneath the Electricity Act 2023, he stated the alternatives “must be matched with effective coordination, clear regulatory frameworks and the necessary infrastructure.”