Power Minister Secures Chinese Firm’s Commitment to Establish Industrial Park in Nigeria

 Power Minister Secures Chinese Firm’s Commitment to Establish Industrial Park in Nigeria

....Nigeria’s power sector may soon witness a major boost in local manufacturing as the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has secured a commitment from leading Chinese equipment manufacturer TBEA to establish a power and energy equipment industrial park in the country.

Tegbe secured the commitment during a high-level meeting with the management of TBEA at the company’s headquarters in Beijing, China, as part of his working visit to engage original equipment manufacturers and technical partners involved in the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).

The proposed industrial park is expected to position Nigeria as a manufacturing and export hub for critical power-sector equipment, reducing the country’s dependence on imported components while promoting technology transfer, job creation and the development of indigenous suppliers.

The minister described TBEA as a long-term strategic development partner rather than merely a contractor, stressing that the Federal Government was seeking investors capable of bringing technology, expertise and local capacity alongside capital.

According to Tegbe, the establishment of the industrial park would support the government’s broader objective of transforming Nigeria’s power sector from an import-dependent market into one with strong domestic manufacturing capabilities.

During the engagement, TBEA also renewed its commitment to accelerating the delivery of ongoing transmission and distribution projects across Nigeria.

The projects, according to the minister, are expected to help unlock more than 2,000 megawatts of stranded power capacity for consumers and strengthen bulk electricity supply to the Federal Capital Territory.

Tegbe called for faster completion of projects being implemented under the Presidential Power Initiative, urging all parties involved to ensure that substantially developed infrastructure is completed and put to use.

He also advocated for the extension of planned grid infrastructure to Nigeria’s East-West corridor, emphasising the Federal Government’s determination to ensure that contracted and substantially developed projects deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.

The meeting further explored the feasibility of developing electric-vehicle charging infrastructure in Nigeria, potentially opening a new investment frontier as the country modernises its electricity grid and expands the integration of renewable energy and energy-storage technologies.

The outcomes of the Beijing engagement form part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts to attract strategic investment and technical partnerships capable of strengthening Nigeria’s electricity value chain.

The administration is seeking to move the sector beyond the importation of equipment towards local production, while also addressing the persistent challenge of stranded generation capacity and inadequate transmission infrastructure.

The proposed partnership with TBEA, therefore, represents an effort to build a more integrated power-sector ecosystem in which Nigeria can manufacture critical equipment, develop indigenous technical capacity, create employment and eventually serve regional markets.

For the Federal Government, the ultimate objective is to build a reliable and sustainable power sector capable of supporting industrialisation, attracting investment and driving long-term economic growth.