The federal government has inaugurated an 11-member project delivery committee in a renewed effort to revive the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria and restore it to full operational capacity in the near future.

The committee includes three representatives from ALSCON, two from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, two from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, and two each from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Federal Ministry of Power.

The committee’s mandate includes fast-tracking the connection of 132kV transmission lines, completing the Itu-Aba and Itu-Calabar 132kV lines, preparing a status report and Single Line Diagram for the 132kV lines, and coordinating their joint commissioning, including identifying funding requirements.
In addition, the committee is tasked with connecting 330kV transmission lines to ALSCON.

This involves outlining funding needs for project completion, producing a status report and SLD for the 330kV lines, and managing the joint commissioning of the project.

In his office, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, inaugurated the committee and highlighted the significance of the project, noting that it would boost the country’s economic growth and development. He emphasized the federal government’s commitment to seeing ALSCON resume operations.

Adelabu urged all agencies involved in reviving the company to collaborate effectively to ensure its swift restoration and called on them to establish practical, actionable solutions for the project.

“It will increase local capacity and create jobs for our people. So, we need to accelerate its activities and avoid delays. We need a lot of collaboration and cooperation to achieve this desired result,” he added.

The minister recalled his visit to the company in October last year, stating that ALSCON had on multiple occasions reached out to the ministry to stress the need for stable, reliable, and uninterrupted power at the plant, and the urgency of connecting it to the national grid.

Representing UC Rusal, the majority shareholder of ALSCON,
Viacheslav Krylov, stated that the company is ready to collaborate with the federal government to address challenges in the power sector, particularly in electricity supply.

He noted that ALSCON has 540MW of gas-fired turbines installed for its own operations, adding that any surplus power generated would be fed into the national grid.