The execution of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) priority projects are making steady progress, the Executive Board of the regional power project has said.
At the end of the 49th meeting of the Board in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin on April 17, 2021, the WAPP Chairman, Sule Abdulaziz, expressed satisfaction with the reports that the WAPP priority projects were progressing well and were at various stages of execution, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
While assuring the meeting that related challenges, such as Right of Way (RoW) issues were being addressed, Abdulaziz commended the Secretary General for the successful negotiation with WAPP Technical and Financial Partners on the financing of a significant number of WAPP priority projects.
Giving the update on the status of the project implementation, the Secretary-General of WAPP, Siengui Apollinaire KI, said the Burkina Faso Regional Solar Park was at the pre-qualification stage, while the Mali Regional Solar Park; the Gambia Regional Solar Park; the Niger Regional Solar Park, and the WAPP Median Dorsal were all undergoing feasibility studies.
Apollinaire KI disclosed that within the first quarter of the year 2021, Niger Republic inaugurated NIGELEC’s 90MW public-private partnership (PPP)-built crude oil plant.
In Ghana, he said ERERA/WAPP Joint Technical Working Group also met to discuss the consolidation of activities of Phase 1 of the Regional Electricity Market and pre-Phase 2 Market Roadmap, among others.
While welcoming members of the Board to the meeting, the Chairman underscored the need for member utilities to pay their dues promptly to enable WAPP to continue to discharge its duties to member states.
He commended those that have paid their dues for year 2021 despite the effects of COVID-19, while encouraging others yet to do so to endeavor to pay up.
He acknowledged the negative impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on world economy, particularly with financial difficulties for all businesses.
The Chairman stressed the need for WAPP to build resilience at this critical time, to enable the Pool achieve its goals.
During the meeting, the Board examined several issues, including reports of the Human Resources and Governance Committee (HRGC), the study on e-learning strategy and the networking strategy of the regional Centres of Excellence, the cost of participating in the Regional Electricity Market as well as guidelines for sending Operators to the WAPP Information and Coordination Centre.
The meeting also ratified five WAPP Organizational Committees for the year 2021.
Also, a comprehensive presentation was made on the stage of implementation of three main projects executed by WAPP, namely the Cote d’Ivoire – Liberia – Sierra Leone – Guinea interconnection line (CLSG) project, the L’Organization pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie (OMVG) loop project, and the International Coordination Centre(ICC) project.
Other critical issues affecting the implementation of the WAPP projects as well as the way forward were equally discussed.
The Board consists of 15 members made up of 11 permanent members, three rotating members, and one honorary member.
Some of the permanent members of the board include the Managing Director /CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), who is the Chairman of the Board; Director-General of Côte d’Ivoire Energies (CI-ENERGIES) who is the Vice-Chairperson, and the Secretary-General.
Other members include the Director General of Communauté Electrique du Bénin (CEB) Togo; Electricitè de GuinèeEDG; The Ghana Grid Company Ltd. (GRIDCO); Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique(BEE); Société Nationale d’Electricité du Sénégal (Senelec); Société de Gestion de l’Energie de Manantali (SOGEM); Société Nationale d’Electricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) and Volta River Authority (VRA).
The rotating members are Energie du Mali EDM-SA; Mainstream Energy; Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) and an Honorary Member, Joseph Makoju, who is a one-time managing director of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
