A South Korean firm, Kingline Integrated Power Development Limited, has expressed its readiness to build a 550 Megawatts gas fired power plant in Cross River State.
Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Sean Kim, dropped the hint when he led a delegation from the firm on a courtesy visit to the governor, Senator Ben Ayade, in Government House, Calabar, yesterday.
He said: “We have already done some preliminary checks in Cross River State and the proposed sites meet all of the requirements, which is why we are here today. The next phase will be the application for a generation licence, initiating processes for the Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, and preparations for the project, among other necessary bureaucratic processes.”
Giving insight into the financing of the project, bearing in mind the current economic realities in the country, Kim said: “On financing, about 560 million USD will be coming in from the company and other investors which includes the World Bank.” Responding, Governor Ayade lauded the firm for bringing the projects to the state, saying the idea of gas fired turbines was apt because the state’s capital city, Calabar, was designed to be “the epicenter of gas gathering around the southern flank in the national gas master plan.” “You are doing the right thing, you are coming at the right time as this is the time that you also have the right incentives.”