FG moves to finalise PPP for 250MW Ikom dam project

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has convened the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Project Development Committee for the Ikom Multipurpose Dam and Hydropower Project, marking the formal commencement of the project’s development under a Public-Private Partnership framework.

The committee was constituted following resolutions reached at a high-level stakeholder meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, where the Ikom dam project was designated a strategic national intervention.

In a statement on Thursday, the Acting Head of Media and Publicity at the commission, Ifeanyi Nwoko, said both a Project Steering Committee and a Project Development Committee were established, with the ICRC mandated to chair the latter.

According to the statement, the inaugural meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, representatives of the Federal Ministries of Water Resources and Power, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Cross River State Government, and Ikom Power Limited.

Speaking at the meeting, the Director-General of the ICRC, Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, described the project as a strategic infrastructure initiative aimed at addressing multiple national needs.

He said, “The project is a multipurpose infrastructure intervention designed to control flood, provide renewable energy, optimise water resource availability and ensure regional economic development.”

He noted that the committee would oversee the technical, regulatory and strategic processes required to move the project from concept stage to bankability while ensuring public interest and credible private sector participation.

Ewalefoh outlined the next steps to include the review and validation of existing feasibility and hydrological studies, clarification of the project scope, determination of the appropriate PPP structure and risk allocation framework, as well as the process for appointing a transaction adviser.

Edun, in his remarks, said the project must be structured as a sustainable and commercially viable transaction capable of attracting long-term private sector investment.

He added that the project aligns with the Federal Government’s broader infrastructure development agenda under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Members of the Project Development Committee were drawn from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Water Resources and Power, the Cross River State Government, the ICRC, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and Ikom Power Limited.

The Ikom Multipurpose Dam is expected to deliver about 250 megawatts of renewable baseload hydropower while addressing recurring flooding in parts of the Benue River Basin.

The project is also expected to strengthen energy security, improve water resource management and stimulate economic growth in Cross River State and neighbouring regions.