Black Rhino and Dangote group, the major partners in the proposed 540MW gas-fired Qua Iboe Power Plant (QIPP) located in Ibeno local government of Akwa Ibom State have secured funding the project which is estimated to cost $1.1billion.

Black Rhino, a wholly owned subsidiary of black stone group owned by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while a Dangote group led by Aliko Dangote, a business mogul and Africa’s richest man.

The QIPP was initially a project initiated by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to boost power supply in the country in line with the Federal Government roadmap on power generation but its ownership was recently transferred to the Black Rhino and Dangote group.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Rhino and Dangote group would take the ownership of the Plant and finance the gas-fired power plant and the 58km offshore pipeline and platform modification needed to supply gas to the power plant, while MPNU, would be responsible for the supply of gas from its offshore facilities to the plant.

Speaking in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Brian Herlihy, the chief executive officer of BlackRhino said the African Development Bank (ADB) as wells the International Finance Consortium (IFC) would fund the project.

He said using a combined cycle technology with General Electric equipment and with gas supply from onshore and offshore facilities, it would make the realisation of the project was faster and easier.

According to him, the project would employ more than 12,000 workes workers at the construction level and 300 workers during operations, adding that it would have a multiplier effect on the indirect job market and expressed appreciation to Governor Udom Emmanuel for his interest in the project, assuring that the company would be alive to its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Earlier, the governor said as the host and a major stakeholder, he is eager to witness the realisation of the investments, adding that he is committed to ensuring the security of the investment, cooperation of the host communities and the benefits to the economy of the state.

“It is a project that has been in the pipelines overtime and we are just at the realisation of this project. That is why you see us meeting and trying to drop timelines on what we want to achieve within a short period, especially within the next critical period of six weeks,” the Governor added.

He said he is targeting September for commencement of full construction based on the indices, and expressed satisfaction that the major bottlenecks to its realization have been cleared.