The Federal Government is working with China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) to find a workable way to restart the long-delayed Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba State.
Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja marking his first 100 days in office.
According to Tegbe, the government has asked CEEC, also known as Energy China, to examine different options for delivering the project, including a possible phased implementation.
The Mambilla project is part of the government’s broader plan to expand electricity generation through large-scale hydropower developments, alongside smaller projects targeted at agricultural areas.
The minister said Nigeria’s recent engagement with Chinese companies and financiers had also produced commitments aimed at advancing several power infrastructure projects.
He said China Machinery Engineering Corporation had reaffirmed its involvement in the 1.9-gigawatt Presidential Power Initiative, with the first transmission lines expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027.
Tegbe added that China National Electric Engineering Company had made progress on financing for the $116 million Zungeru power evacuation project.
Other commitments include a proposed $500 million power-equipment manufacturing industrial park by Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock and plans by HengFei Cables to supply cables for the second phase of the Presidential Power Initiative, while also exploring a cable assembly plant and training centre in Nigeria.
The government said the initiatives are intended to combine power infrastructure development with local manufacturing and technical skills development.
Tegbe also disclosed that technical assessments had begun on the Lagos and Abuja transmission corridors to identify weaknesses requiring investment, while the government plans to strengthen grid stability along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors.
The renewed effort on Mambilla follows Nigeria’s recent victory in an arbitration dispute involving Sunrise Power.
The dispute originated from a 2003 agreement for the construction of a 3,050-megawatt hydropower plant under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.
Sunrise Power later initiated arbitration in 2017, seeking $2.35 billion from the Federal Government over an alleged breach of contract.
A proposed $200 million settlement was reached in 2019 and formalised in 2020, but the payment was not made. Sunrise subsequently pursued further arbitration.
On September 17, the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris ruled in favour of Nigeria in the $2.35 billion claim brought by Sunrise Power over the Mambilla project.
