The Niger State Government and Ukpa Energy Company Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for converting municipal solid waste to wealth and generating electricity for use.
This is disclosed in a statement signed by Sotonye Russell, Head of Administration and Finance, Ukpa Energy Company Limited.
It said that, under the agreement, the Niger government was an equity partner in the proposed Independent Power Plant, to be sited in Bonu village, Gurara Local Government Area of the state.
According to the statement, the state government had provided an equity of 15 hectares of land for the project.
Mr Lucky Barau, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, who represented the Commissioner, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, at the event, said the project would benefit the state in several ways.
He listed such benefits as: social, health, environmental and economical benefits, not to mention the indiscriminate dumping of wastes in Niger.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Ukpa Energy Company Limited, Chief Ewie Aimienwauu, said the project would be ready for commissioning in 18 months.
“The project will recycle wastes to produce organic fertiliser, waste plastic bags, 20 MW electricity, portable drinking water and concrete from sludge.
“A total of 35,000 sustainable jobs will be generated from the entire value chain and waste management ecosystem as a result of this project,” he said.
Aimienwauu said that soon there would be value placed on waste once it becomes a resource and the attitude of households to solid waste would change accordingly.
“The idea is that no waste is wasted,” he said.
He noted that Ukpa Energy Company and its foreign partners, MKM Management Doo, Lindner Recycling Tech, Hansa Energy Solutions LLC, would spend $130 million on the project.
“The independent power plant will use the ultra-critical gasification technology to produce steam which will drive the turbines that generate electricity.
“The power plant will be built turnkey including evacuation lines and substation.
“The feedstock of the plant will be 100 per cent Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), an environmentally friendly, clean and safe alternative to coal which is processed from municipal solid waste.
“Ukpa Energy Company Limited in addition to producing RDF from its material recovery facilities to be established across Niger State has secured a no objection approval from the Federal Ministry of Environment for importation of supplementary Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF),” he said.
By Taiye Olayemi
