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Power Lines

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has provided a $170 million debt financing facility in conjunction with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, to the Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited consortium(MESL), for the acquisition of the Kainji Power Plc in the first round of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s privatisation of power generation assets formerly owned by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Nigeria commenced restructuring and reform of its electricity sector in 2000 with the issuance of the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP) to unbundle the sector and establish a regulator, with a mandate to create and develop a competitive electricity market. The provisions of the NEPP were subsequently enacted in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005(EPSR Act), thus providing the key legal and regulatory framework for the reform, including the establishment of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, paving the way for private sector participation in the power sector. Kainji Plc is one of six power generation limited liability companies established under the provisions of the EPSR Act for the concessioning of hydroelectric power plants, following the unbundling of the vertically integrated PHCN. Kainji Plc consists of two hydroelectric power plants – Kainji Hydroelectric power plant (Kainji HEP) and Jebba Hydroelectric power plant (Jebba HEP) located in the Kainji and Jebba regions of Northern Nigeria, within the confluence of the River Niger, and with a combined installed capacity of 1,338MW. Kainji Plc currently generates approximately 25% of total electricity supplied to the Nigerian national grid. AMNI Petroleum International Limited (AMNI), established in 1993, is the lead sponsor of the MESL consortium and an independent (indigenous) oil & gas exploration and production company in joint ownership, with Afren Plc, of the flagship Okoro/Setu oil and gas fields. RusHydro International AG, a subsidiary of JSC RusHydro, the world’s second-largest hydropower generating company in terms of installed capacity of 36GW, is the technical partner. AFC, a multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with a capital base of USD1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector infrastructure investment across Africa. AFC fills a critical void in providing project structuring expertise and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs, and is increasingly being seen as the benchmark institution for private sector investment in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC together with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, is a mandated co-arranger of the acquisition facility, providing an aggregate commitment of USD 68 million to the MESL consortium. Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, Executive Director & General Counsel speaking on behalf of Andrew Alli, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation remarked, “AFC’s long term vision is to help address Africa’s infrastructure deficit and ensure sustainable economic growth for the continent. Growth of the Nigerian economy cannot be fully realised without an efficient and functioning power sector. Power is one of AFC’s high priority sectors for investment, and arguably Africa’s most significant need. To this end AFC has partnered with the US Government through USAID in the USD7 billion US Presidential “Power Africa Initiative” to accelerate investment in Africa’s power sector over the next five years and increase access to clean, geothermal, hydro, wind and solar energy. AFC’s investment in Kanji power will contribute towards reducing Nigeria’s chronic power deficit, foster economic growth and create employment. ”AFC was created to address the infrastructure investment deficit and is privileged to be providing an African private sector investment solution, to drive economic growth and industrial development in Nigeria.”
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This article was first published on 7th August 2013 and updated on August 23rd, 2013 at 10:37 am

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