By Thompson ABISOLA
The Vice- President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo would on Friday commission a 1.5 megawatts Independent Power Project (IPP) at Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos to boost Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Mr Ayan Ogbe, Director of Promotions, Rural Electrification Agency, said this in Lagos, ahead of the commissioning, which is one of the agency’s project milestones.
Ogbe said the project called, “Energising Economies Initiative (EEI) is a Federal Government initiative implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
He said that the project would drive effective business development to the market.
He said that over 200,000 MSMEs in the country would be boosted by government under the Energising Economies Initiative project.
Ogbe said that as a result of the project,over 799 generators would be decommissioned reducing harmful greenhouse emissions and noise pollution,while shop rentals in Sura Shopping Complex has also increased by 20 per cent.
He said that besides the initiative, it would also create over 2,500 jobs and reduce carbon emissions by 25,000 metric tonnes annually.
According to him, the project has improved access to stable electricity, while over 80,000 shops will receive clean, safe and reliable electricity henceforth.
“Sura Shopping Complex is an ultra-modern complex located in Lagos and used for commercial purposes.
“It has over 11 different businesses ranging from printing and branding to financial services, equipment maintenance, catering and tailoring services.
“The complex has 1,047 shops which have been metered and energised for 70 days since project kicked-off.
The director, said that the project is driven by private sector, built and managed by Solad Holdings, a private sector developer of the Sura Shopping Complex IPP.
He said that Solad provides power to Sura shopping complex from the Island Power Plant in Marina through a dedicated underground distribution network infrastructure.
He added that Solad had also upgraded the distribution equipment and installed meters in all shops.
