The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Eno, has urged Welbeck Electricity Distribution Limited to fulfil its commitment to providing adequate electricity to manufacturers operating in the Idu Industrial Layout of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Eno spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony of Phase One of the proposed 50MW Idu Industrial Power Project in Abuja.

The minister said the Federal Government would use the Idu Industrial Layout as a model for similar industrial power initiatives across the country.

Eno said the project would support the government’s efforts to promote local production and value addition.

“I am glad that Welbeck Electricity believes in the vision. Just imagining that Idu has adequate power supply is satisfying to me. I made a commitment to provide adequate power to the industrial layout and it is being fulfilled,” he said.

He said the project would contribute to job creation, reduce pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves by supporting local production and strengthen Nigeria’s resilience to global disruptions.

“Even though we were working behind the scene, I thought it would not happen, but here we are today. This will enable value addition to what the government is presently doing,” he said.

Eno added that industrial productivity could be improved by making available power that would otherwise remain stranded for industrial production.

He, however, stressed that achieving the objective would require patience, consistency and cooperation between the government, residents and private sector operators.

The Managing Director of Welbeck Electricity Distribution Limited, Afolabi Aiyela, described the company as an Independent Power Producer (IPP) with experience in supplying electricity to industries and data centres.

He said the company had expertise in power generation and worked with distribution companies to deliver electricity to industrial users.

Aiyela said the first phase of the Idu project would deliver 10MW from a temporary site by December 2026.

According to him, the initial 10MW would be supplied to customers within Idu with the greatest need for electricity.

He said multinational companies operating in the area would not be the immediate focus, as the first phase would prioritise Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large indigenous corporations.

“We will give the first cluster of manufacturers in Idu 24-hour power by December. We would ensure the inhabitants of Idu have constant power supply too,” he said.

Aiyela appealed to the government to extend the gas pipeline to Idu to facilitate wider electricity generation and distribution in the industrial area. (The Nation)