By Onyemachi Onyenwe, Owerri
Egyptian power giant has joined the struggle to give Imo State steady power supply as the power sector has been decentralized.
Many states have joined the race to grow their power sector investments since the sector is no longer in the exclusive list. Rivers State was the first to start investments in the sector in year 2000 with gas turbines but centralization made the investments to suffer setback due to absence of right to distribute power.
Now, other states have developed ambition to have control of their power destiny. To actualize this, the Imo State government has entered into a pact with Madkour Group, an Egyptian power generation, transmission, and distribution company, for the purpose of solving the perennial epileptic power supply in the state.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Madkour Group, which was signed in the Imo State Government House Owerri, was the highpoint of months of partnership discussions between the management of the Egyptian firm and those of the Orashi Electricity Company of Imo State. Before that pact was signed, there had been several days of tour of facilities in the state by both parties.
Mostafa Madkour, the president of the Egyptian company, signed for Madkour Group while Valentine Obumeyan, the Acting General Manager of Orashi Electricity Company of Imo State, signed on behalf of the State government.
Both parties showed impressive interest and commitment to do everything humanly possible to ensure that the perennial epileptic power supply in the state ends by January 2025.
Addressing the audience at the signing ceremony which included top government officials and key management officers of Madkour Group, Gov Hope Uzodimma said that in the pursuit of the development of Imo State, his administration had already assented to a law on power generation for the state and that the law created Orashi Electricity Company Limited for the state.
Uzodimma noted that the Federal Government supported the state in the establishment of the company and to find technical and financial partners.
“The need for partners became necessary because the business of power generation, distribution, and transmission is capital intensive and it is not what the State can carry alone”, he added.
He went on: “This informed the coming of Madkour Group to partner Orashi Electricity Company Limited of Imo State as both technical and financial partners.”
Uzodimma emphasised that as part of the deliverables, by January next year (2025) the state would generate, transmit, and distribute its own power. He noted that it was to consummate the partnership that the signing of the MOU became inevitable.
Responding on behalf of the Madkour Group, its president (Madkour) thanked Gov Uzodimma for trusting in their capacity and accepting to engage them in the partnership.
He gave assurance that they would provide all that would be needed in the power generation, transmission, and distribution in the state, in line with the pact they had entered into with Orashi Electricity Company of Imo State.
He promised that they would not only work hard to support and stabilise the source of power supply in Imo State, but would work hard to make it happen.
