Power: FG to cancel N7.3bn Jebba rehabilitation contract

There are strong indications that the Minister of Power, Professor Bart Nnaji, will cancel the controversial contract award for the rehabilitation of one of the four units of the Jebba hydro power station in Niger State.Our correspondent gathered that although, Marubeni of Japan had been chosen through a selective bidding process as the preferred bidder, subject to approval by the Bureau of Public Procurement, the contract has pitted two international engineering giants, Marubeni and Alstom of France, against each other.The Jebba power stations management, had 18 months ago invited Siemens of Germany; Andrtz of Austria;Hitachi (now a member of Marubeni Group) and Alstom to bid for the rehabilitation of unit 2G6 with a capacity for 160 megawatts, which was damaged by fire, but only Marubeni and Alstom responded to the invitation.While Marubeni quoted N7.3 bn to do it in 20 months, Alstom bid N3.7bn to do the job in 25 months, but it was gathered that Staeg, the project consultant hired in the middle of the bidding to supervise the process, recommended that the job be given to Marubeni.The recommendation led to a series of accusations and counter accusations by the two contracting firms and petitions to the Presidency, the Ministry of Power, the Presidential Task Force on Power as well as the Bureau of Public Procurement stalled the rehabilitation.Sources in the Ministry of Power confirmed to our correspondent on Sunday that Nnaji has decided to cancel the entire exercise in order to end the lingering controversy in the interests of equity, transparency and integrity, and restore public confidence in the process of contract awards in the ministry, in the PHCN and in the companies which emerged out of the unbundling of the PHCN.The sources also disclosed that rather than continuing with selective bidding, Nnaji would now call for open bidding, thus enabling all interested companies registered in Nigeria to bid for the contract.Special Adviser,[ Communications] to the Minister of Power, Mr. Don Adinuba, told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that the minister would take a decision on the matter soon.
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