The Federal Government has announced plans to link the moribund Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, to the national grid.
The company stopped production almost a decade ago, following a lack of a reliable electricity supply, which has hampered the operation of the plant.
The present government has pledged to revive production at the plant and connect it to the national grid in both the short term and the long term.
The decision to resolve the challenge of power supply to the company, among other issues, was taken on Tuesday during a meeting between the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu and the management of ALSCON.
The meeting, held at the conference hall of ALSCON, also included representatives from the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
ALSCON management, led by the Project Manager, Ruslan Matrenin, and the acting Managing Director, Ime Inyang, listed, in their presentations, the lack of gas and power, as well as security and legal issues, as some of the company’s challenges.
The Minister of Power, Adelabu, who spoke with journalists after the meeting, said that President Bola Tinubu was committed to the resuscitation of ALSCON, which was established 27 years ago but shut down over a decade ago due to a lack of power and gas supplies.
He said, “This investment, like many others in the country, has suffered from power problems in the past 27 years. It has not been connected to the national grid. And we are very much aware of the enormous potential of this company in the downstream, midstream and upstream conversion of aluminium.
“It can create lots of employment for our teeming youths. It can also serve as a supplier of raw materials for many downstream aluminium companies, which can save us huge foreign exchange from the import of these raw materials.
“Having appreciated this, I have come to visit the company to discuss with the managers and owners of the company and all the other stakeholders, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Niger Delta Power Holding Company, and all the contractors involved, to devise an immediate solution to the power problem this company has been facing.
“And I am happy we have made very good progress with the meeting of today as we have determined a short time solution to the problem of power to solution to connect this company to the national grid and what the medium-term solution is and we have made good progress.”
He said that the company has the capacity to supply 660 megawatts of power to the national grid when linked to the 330kva substation, which is being constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
“But the most interesting part of this meeting is the fact that the company also has the potential of supplying 540 megawatts of power to the national grid when fully activated.
“They have an installed capacity of 540 megawatts, comprising 6 turbines with 90 megawatts each, and they are all in very good condition. Once all the infrastructures are put in place, and with the 330kva substation, which is being constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company together with the lines from Ikot Ekpene to Ikot Abasi, they will be able to evacuate the entire 540 megawatts to the national grid.
“There is even the possibility of expanding this by 120 megawatts because this is an open circle. It can be made a combined mega circle by which the 120 megawatts transferred from the 120 powered turbines can be made to be 660 megawatts.
“You can imagine what this will add to the national grid. I have come today to listen to the company and other stakeholders, and we have a solution in sight. All we need to do now is to go back and work on all the agreed action lines, which I will personally supervise.
“I believe that within the next ninety days, we will be able to achieve the short-term solution, and the country will begin to feel the impact of this company beginning operations, from the number of jobs the company will generate in the country.
“They have the capacity to generate up to 3,000 employment and also supply of raw materials to downstream aluminum companies. This will save us millions of dollars and foreign exchange it will impact on our federal reserve and our gross domestic product, GDP. So it is a company that will add a lot to the economic prosperity of the country and the people of Nigeria,” he said.
On gas supply, the minister said, “The company has a gas pipeline that has extended to the backyard, which they have used in the past. But in the last 11 years, they have not gotten a gas supply, even though they have a gas supply agreement.
“This is all about commercials in gas supply. If the price is right, the gas company will supply. It is a highly competitive market; preference will be given to those who pay higher. We believe they can sit down with the gas company and agree on a commercially viable price that will ensure that gas is supplied to the company.
“I think that gas is the least of the problems here. The gas problem can be resolved with appropriate pricing. There is Ibom Power Company here that is getting gas which is less than 500 metres from here and the gas pipelines are working. It is a matter of agreeing on the right price with the gas company for the turbines to be powered immediately.”
