Again Fashola Confirms Power Generation Hits 7000 Megawatts, Urges Timely Completion Of Owerri-Port Harcourt Expressway

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and Rochas Okorocha Governor of Imo State.

Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has assured the South East and South South geo-political zones of his intervention to speed up work on the Owerri-Port Harcourt expressway towards its timely completion.He promised to meet with the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to ensure that the delay in the completion of the road project ends.
He also disclosed that power supply to the national grid rose from 2,696 megawatts in 2015 to 7,000 megawatts in September 2017.Fashola made the disclosures during a visit to Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State at Government House, Owerri, saying the consistent efforts by the Federal Government led to the increase in power generation.

He said he was in the region to attend the monthly meeting of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and expressed joy that everything would work out for the better.

Speaking, Okorocha, urged Fashola to direct the contractors handling the Owerri-Port Harcourt road and other projects under his care to speed up work.His words: “I have made my concerns known to the Minister with regard to the neglect of the state, especially with regard to the Aba-Owerri road and Port-Harcourt-Owerri road. And currently, the Minister has done a lot to ensure the completion of the roads.

“He has also informed me that he has called the contractors concerned to see me immediately with a view to completing the Aba–Owerri road and the Owerri–Port-Harcourt road.

“We talked about power and electricity in the state and he indicated the ministry’s interest to ensure that Imo gets stable power supply. We also discussed the Federal Housing project for which he said the issue of land will soon be resolved.’’

Speaking further, Fashola commended Okorocha for his effort to lift the quality of life in Imo State and the lofty achievements and programmes he has embarked upon in his government’s rescue mission.

“We came for our monthly power meeting. Some of the issues we discussed were the expansion and distribution network of some of our communities like Nebo, New Heaven, Onitsha and Aba, among others on the power quality and service experience,” he added.

He explained that generation capacity had increased from 2,696 MW in 2015 to 7,000 MW in September this year, adding, “Transmission has also improved from 5,000–6,900. We now have a new problem and that is our production capacity has exceeded the distribution company’s wholesale power.

“So, power currently added to the grid is 4,600MW. When you compare that with what we had three years ago, we have essentially doubled it, but we can do more.”