The West African Power Pool (WAPP) North Core Project, a transmission line that will link Nigeria to three countries, will be completed in 2023, Chairman, Executive Board of the regional body, Dr. Sule Abdulaziz, has said.
Abdulaziz, who is also the Acting Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), spoke at the 52nd WAPP executive board meeting which took place as part of the 16th Session of the organisation’s general assembly in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
While highlighting key project implementation updates, the WAPP head said that the scheme which seeks to interconnect Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin was at the implementation phase with the procurement process underway.
The project, he said, is expected to be completed by 2023 and is part of efforts of the WAPP to integrate the power systems of West African countries by delivering priority projects, which would ensure that all 14 countries in the mainland are eventually interconnected.
Other projects undertaken within the West African Sub-region he added, include the construction of the 330kV Volta (Ghana) to Lome (Togo) – Sakété (Benin) interconnection line that has been completed and will soon be energised and the WAPP Cote d’Ivoire – Sierra Leone – Guinea (CLSG) line also to be commissioned soon.
He noted that WAPP has continued to make giant strides towards the effective operationalisation of the regional electricity scheme by continuing to harmonise the market rules and agreement by market participants on regulatory issues.
In his comments, Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr. Siengui Appolinaire KI, at the hybrid meeting urged members to be resiliencs despite the several challenges.
“We must at all costs continue our journey towards the ultimate goal of our institution, which is the implementation of a competitive regional electricity market. We absolutely must redouble our efforts to this end, the goal being more than ever within reach,” he said.
He noted that new rotating members of the executive council, who will have to sit for the next two years and a new vice-chairman would be elected, as the former vice Chairman, Mr. Hamidou Traore had been re-designated.
Earlier, while welcoming participants to the meeting, Mr. Ahmed Coulibaly, the Director-General of Sonabel, the power firm hosting the meeting, called for more commitments.
“In our sub-region, the stakes in the electricity sector are so high that we must rigorously ensure that the decisions are implemented on time,” he maintained.