Aba Integrated Power Project : Geometric Power signs $50m facility with Afrexim Bank

Chris Uba

The 188 Megawatts power plant in Aba, Abia, state being constructed by  Geometric Power Limited,  will be ready in June next year following a $50 million term loan facility by  the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)   for the Aba Integrated Power Project in Nigeria

The facility provided by Afreximbank to Geometric Power Limited will finance the initial capital required to acquire rights to the Aba Ring Fenced Area.

Confirming the development in a text message to our Correspondent, Former power minister, Professor Bart O. Nnaji, who is the chairman/CEO of  said, the facility will be ready in six months from this December.

“We here at Geometric Power Limited are excited to announce that on Monday 15/11/21 a 50 Million USD facility agreement for the operationalisation of the Aba Integrated Power Project was signed with Afrexim Bank in Durban, South Africa.

“Our President and CEO of Geometric Power Limited, Prof. Barth Nnaji, acted as signatory while the President of Afrexim Bank Prof. Benedict Oramah signed for the Bank.

“The loan facility will support the initial capital required to acquire rights to the Aba Ring Fence Area, complete outstanding construction works and at last, commence operations at the power plant, “ the power plant company on its website.

In this connection, Afreximbank successfully completed its Advisory and Capital Raise Mandate for the Aba Integrated Power Project.

The bank advised projects sponsors Geometric Power on restructuring and arranging gap capital in the $332 million  recapitalisation funds for the Aba IPP Power Project.

The Aba Integrated Power Project is a fully integrated generation and distribution utility located in Osisioma local government area in Aba city, Abia State.

President of Afreximbank, Prof Oramah, said, they are proud to be part of this milestone achievement by having resolved this recapitalisation and financing.

“In line with the Bank’s Fifth Strategic Plan and in particular the strategic pillars related to financing, industrialisation and export development, the commissioning of the Aba Integrated Power Project embodies Afreximbank’s objectives in many dimensions and could possibly be a tipping point towards the industrialisation of Nigeria through stable power supply,” he said.

The Abia state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, in his remarks, stated that, the Aba IPP project will transform the economy of Abia State and will be critical to the success of the Enyimba Economic City project in the state.

It will ensure that the over 250,000 SMEs in the state who export their projects will have reliable electricity supply to enable them to standardise their products and reduce their cost of operations.

Geometric Power is the pioneer in Nigerian Power Industry that prides self in placing the first Independent Power transmission Station in the country, as well as being one of the first companies involved in urban electrification.

 In terms of power generation, the company brought in the first high efficiency combined emergency power station in 2001 for Abuja.

 The 22 MW Emergency Power Station in Abuja guaranteed the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) the supply of 15MW. While in operation, the power station successfully supplied uninterrupted power to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (formerly National Electric Power Authority) to serve a dedicated distribution network within Abuja and its environs.

Beneficiaries of the project included the Abuja Central Business District, the International Conference Centre (ICC), the Federal Secretariat and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters.

This experience led to the Aba Integrated Power Project, a distribution project with an embedded generation company, illustrates GP’s “Integrated Power Solutions Model” of successful power project-islands targeted primarily at enhancing Industrial growth and economic development.

The Aba IPP project, as conceived and designed, will pioneer the development of power generation and distribution companies that serve the needs of industrial, commercial and residential areas in an economic cluster, like the industrial city of Aba.