Economy
Landslide Threatens $6b Mambilla Hydro-Power Project
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
There are strong indications that the over $3.2billion Mambilla Hydro-power project may be stalled by a landslide.
Apart from the landslide, another key factor that may frustrate the project initiated in Taraba State in 1982 is bad roads.
The hydro-power project has the capacity to generate about 3050 megawatts of electricity, which is far more than what the present six biggest thermal stations in the country have in total, 3030 megawatts.
The Mambilla Hydro-power was conceptualised to serve as the largest single hydro-power station in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, previous governments suspended the project due to different factors.
But President Muhammadu Buhari has revived the project and is determined to complete it.
The contract to construct the project was awarded on May 28, 2007 at the sum of $3.2 billion to China Gezhouba Group Company Limited (CGGC) and another Chinese consortium named Sinohydro.
But the amount was increased to about $6 billion due to inflationary trends. The Chinese firms are expected to provide 70 per cent of the sum while 30 per cent would be provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The President was in China this year to seek the assistance of Chinese government, the major financier for the power-station, in an effort to ensure the speedy completion of the project.
Recently some foreign engineers in company of government officials on an inspection visit to Taraba State refused to proceed further to Barup, the project site due to bad roads damaged by massive landslide.
Other access roads are bushy that only bikes could ply while the rivers have no functional bridges.
All entreaties by officials and members of the local community were not heeded by the foreigners who insisted that they would not continue the journey on dangerous paths.
A source at the Federal Ministry of Work Power and Housing told the Economic Confidential that the Minister, Mr Raji Fashola has shown keen interest in ensuring the completion of the project because of its potential to add 3000MW to the grid through Hydro-Electric project rather than expensive gas plants.
The officer added that “the Ministry is working towards assessing the condition of the roads for immediate solutions. We are all aware that the project would provide employment opportunities and is expected to boost national economic growth.”
Also concerned about the development, former President Olusegun Obasanjo urged President Buhari to immediately complete the Hydro Power Project to increase the energy potentials of Nigeria and pave way for more development.
Obasanjo who was speaking with news men in Jalingo, Taraba State said that the project would be of great benefit to the region and to Nigeria and as such must be quickly completed. He added that the cost of completing the project was rising by the day stressing that it would be better to complete it now than wait for when it would be more expensive.
A community leader and Chairman of Mambilla Plateau Legacies Forum (MPLF), Mallam Ibrahim Ismail Sadiq appealed to the Federal and state governments to take urgent measures at addressing the problems of the roads and open up the potentials of the plateau. He said that the surrounding communities that are borders to Cameroon Republic are on the verge of being cut off from Nigeria as a result of the landslide that occurred on the only road linking Mambilla Plateau with Taraba state and Nigeria as a nation.
He said that: “Many foreign investors are reluctant to ply the dangerous roads that are dilapidated by landslides while the rivers could not be accessed by vehicle due to lack of functional bridges.
“Apart from the potential to generate power-supply, Mambilla Plateau offers attractive settings worth of massive investments than anywhere in Nigeria because of its unique physical and conducive climatic conditions for human settlement and cattle breeding.”
The Mambilla Plateau is a high grassland with an average elevation of 2419m (5249ft) above sea level, making it the highest Plateau in Nigeria which occupies an area 9389km§. It has cattle ranches, tea plantation and rolling glassy hills. It is a home to some rare species of birds and animals. The highland is also home to Nigeria and west Africa’s only highland tea plantation and production.
Mambilla landslide
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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