Business
FG To Boost Energy Production
The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to utilise wood waste and cow dung to boost energy production in the country.
The Director, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Dr Oludayo Dada, made this known in an interview with the newsmen, last Thursday, in Abuja.
He said the project would be achieved through ‘Cow to Kilowatt System’, a project initiated by the Federal Government in Ibadan in 2008.
According to him, it will be funded by the Federal Government in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and be replicated in other states of the federation.
“The project in Ibadan is 40 per cent done. We have some slight problems with the funding but we hope this year we will be able to complete it,” he added.
Dada said another capital project earmarked for completion this year was the ‘Wood Waste Conversion Project’.
“We are commencing on that so that we can produce electricity for the neighbouring communities,’’ he said.
He said the project established in Ogun and Niger states, was initiated in the 2010 budget, adding that it would flow into this year’s budget.
Dada stressed the need to involve private investors in waste management for a wider coverage of the country and to ensure a sustainable environment.
He said that besides the Wood Conversion Project, the ministry had started another project called, “Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF).
Dada described the project as a national initiative on solid waste and called for public private partnership to ensure its success.
He said the projects had begun in Kano, Anambra, Ekiti, Oyo and Abia States, adding that Uyo would commence soon.
“Onitsha is a place that we can showcase that the project is working,’’ he said.
Dada said that the Federal Government would provide N250 million for any prospective investor while the investor would invest between N4 billion and N10 billion for the project in any city in the country.
He added that the N4 billion was the benchmark, pointing out that the amount could be higher depending on the size of the city.
The state governments would however, provide the enabling environment for investors, he said.