Dangote Group, Black Rhino stake $10bn in energy, power transmission

Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has indicated interest to invest in energy, power transmission and pipeline sectors, saying that he was moved by the need to create a suit­able environment for the establish­ment of more industries and create jobs for Nigeria.

Dangote, who visited Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in the company of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Muhammad II, said al­ready, the Dangote Group and Black Rhino have decided to jointly invest $10 billion in the project.

The AUTHORITY reports that Black Rhino is a portfolio company of Blackstone Energy of which the Emir of Kano is the chairman.

Dangote, while expressing op­timism on the viability of the pro­jects, assured that it would improve power generation in the state and re­suscitate industries so that they can generate employment opportunities for the teeming youths and make the economy vibrant.

He explained that the gas pro­ject from the South East to Western Nigeria would extend to Ghana and would go a long way in addressing the energy needs of industries with­in the region, particularly those un­der the Dangote group.

Speaking during the visit, the Emir of Kano, Malam Muham­madu Sanusi II, also explained that his group and Dangote Industries would contribute $5 billion each for the construction of a coal pow­er plant and a solar energy project in Kano, as well as gas pipeline project from Akwa Ibom to South West Ni­geria, where Dangote Industries are concentrated.

He stated that the consortium decided to embark on the pow­er projects in Kano because of the power crisis in the state, explain­ing that the coal project and the so­lar energy project would produce about 1,000 MW and 100 MW, re­spectively.

Malam Sanusi expressed opti­mism that the projects would to a large extent improve electricity pow­er generation in the state for both the consumption of Kano residents and for the revival of the ailing in­dustries in the state.

The State Governor, Dr Abdul­lahi Umar Ganduje, however, was upbeat that, “the project would bail Kano State out of its prevailing eco­nomic depression and uplift it to an­other level of economic prosperity and development.”

“Now that the national econo­my is dwindling, we have no better way to revive it than to invest in ag­riculture and resuscitate our indus­tries”, the governor stated, promis­ing that the state government would provide land, among other things, to enable the project to materialise,” he added.

Stressing that power is very crit­ical to the survival of industries in the State, Dr Ganduje announced that the state government is also making modest efforts to provide electricity through the ongoing multi-billion Naira Independent Power Projects at Tiga and Chall­awa, which would generate 35MW of electricity.