By; FUNMI ADERINTO, Kaduna
The Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Sunday said the construction of Kudenda 132KV circuit line power station to Mando is 80 per cent completion.
The Managing Director of the company Engineer Suleiman Abdullaziz said in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Kaduna during an inspection visit to the Kudenda Construction site.
He said the contractors have successfully erected 38 towers out of 55 needed within the area.
According to him, the project is handled by Atlantic Engineering Company, while the contract was awarded to the company in April 2018 and is expected to be completed by December 2022.
According to him, what delayed the project where the challenges of compensation COVID-19 insecurity and pending issue on approval to remove two existing towers from Gurara to relocate them at the other end of the Kudenda power plant.
He said the impact of the project when completed would improve power supply in Kaduna and environs.
“We are here right at Kudenda Power Station, this power station is generating two hundred and fifty (250) megawatt and we have to evacuate this power to Mando 330 kva substation in Kaduna.
“What we are doing now, we’re building 132 Kv transmission line from Kidandan to Mando.
According to him, in addition, to that they have the Gurara generation station which is generating thirty (30) megawatt. That project has been completed long time ago.
“The only issue is we have are two, the first one is at Kudandan, we paid compensation to almost all people here but we have five people who refused to collect their own money, telling us that we have undervalued their properties”, he said.
According to him, we are talking with Kaduna State Government to find a solution to that.
“Secondly, we have our 330 substations at Mando, there’s also land there, which they ask for compensation and according to rules and regulations, we are paying for crops and properties we don’t pay for land because the land belongs to the government.
These are the things that are holding this project but the project is almost eighty per cent completed and the contractor assured us that he is going to finish before the end of this year.
