MAMBILLA HYDROPOWER PROJECT

Mambilla hydropower project is a 3.05GW hydroelectric facility being developed on the Dongo
River near Baruf, in Kakara Village of Taraba State, Nigeria.
The project is being undertaken by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Power, Construction, and
Housing, with the help of Chinese investments.
Expected to commence operation in 2030, Mambilla will be Nigeria’s biggest power plant,
producing approximately 4.7 billion kWh of electricity a year.
The project is estimated to cost $5.8bn and will generate up to 50,000 local jobs during the
construction phase.

1. Mambilla hydropower project development history

Although Mambilla hydroelectric project was originally conceived in 1972, it could advance
only after 35 years when China’s Gezhouba Group awarded a contract to develop the project
with 2,600MW installed capacity in 2007. The ground survey for the project was completed in
August 2010 and environmental approval was received in December 2011.
The capacity of the project was increased to 3,050MW in 2012. The project was, however, put
on hold due to administrative clashes, until it received government approval in 2016. Nigerian
Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing awarded the project development contract to a
consortium of three Chinese companies including the Gezhouba Group, in November 2017.

2. Mambilla hydropower Structure

Mambilla hydroelectric facility will comprise four dams and two underground powerhouses
having 12 turbine generator units in total. The four dams to be constructed on the Dongo River
for the Mambilla hydropower project include the Nya (formerly known as Gembu), Sumsum,
Nghu and Api Weir dams. Nya and Sumsum will be 100m and 35 m-tall roller compacted
concrete (RCC) dams with crest lengths of 515m and 460m, respectively.
Nghu will be a 95m-high rockfill dam with a crest length of 650m, while Api Weir will be a
small regulatory dam to raise the water level of the river. Nya and Sumsum dams will be
connected through a 16km-long, 6m-diameter tunnel, whereas Sumsum and Nghu dams will be
connected by a 1.5km-long and 10m-wide canal.
The headrace canal for the plant will be 3.1km long and 15 m wide. Each underground
powerhouse of the plant will measure 175mx27mx38m and house six 250MW Pellton turbine
units operating at a total dynamic head of 1,007m. The diameter of the power shafts connecting
each turbine will range between 5.25m and 8.40m.
Two 6km-long tailrace tunnels for the plant will be of 8m diameter each, while the tailrace canal
will be 3km-long and 25m-wide.
 3. Cost Structure of the Mambilla hydropower project
The 3050MW Mambilla hydroelectric plant is expected to cost the sum of about $3.2 billion.
Following the re-award of the contract, its construction structure was also reviewed and
Sinohydro was awarded 70 percent of the project while CGGC/CGC was asked to complete the
remaining 30 percent. With this arrangement, the project is expected to be financed by China
Gezhouba Group Company and Synohydro on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) concession
agreement with counterpart contributions of 15 percent from the Nigerian government
(Onwuemenyi, 2015).
This proposed contracting structure for Mambilla HEP stipulates that Messrs Sinohydro will
cover 70 per cent of the project while Messrs CGGC Limited (China Gezhouba Group
Company) will cover 30 percent of the project scope. The Exim Bank of China will provide
outstanding funding percentages required to construct the power projects which are also expected
to yield returns for repayment of the concessionary loans (ThisDayLive, 2013). This arrangement
was rejected by CGGC/CGC (ThisDayLive, 2014).
The sudden contract cancellation was thus reported to the Chinese government by CGGC/CGC.
This made the Chinese government, a major financier of the project to hold back the release of
$2.5 billion in counterpart funds for the project.

4. Power Generation

The Mambilla HEP project is the largest hydroelectric power potential in the country with a
capacity of 3,050MW. The Mambila HEP project at inception was designed to a capacity of
2,600MW. In 2012, the project was reviewed and the capacity increased to 3,050 MW. The
increase in the installed capacity was achieved by relocating the original Gembu Dam to about
20km downstream to create a new Nya Dam thereby enlarging the catchment area and providing
more water for irrigation and power generation (Daily Trust, 2014).

Beyond these dams, the tunnels lead into a 1,000-meter (3,300 ft) drop shaft tunneled down
through the rock to a massive underground power station with a generating capacity of 3,050
megawatts (4,090,000 hp). Passing through a short tunnel, the water then exits the base of the
plateau and flows into a tributary river that re-joins the Donga River downstream of the plateau.
Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station. (2023, September 18). In Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambilla_Hydroelectric_Power_Station

The power generated by the Mambilla hydroelectric facility will be transmitted to the national
grid by four 500kV DC transmission lines connecting Makurdi, and one 330kV DC transmission
line connecting Jalingo.

The combined length of the transmission lines will be 700km.

 5. Commercial relationship of the Mambilla hydroelectric project

The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Mambilla Hydropower
project was awarded to a joint venture between China Gezhouba Group (CGGC), Sinohydro, and
CGCOC (formerly CGC Overseas Construction), in November 2017.

The EPC contract is led by China Gezhouba Group, which is a subsidiary of the state-owned
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). Studio Pietrangeli, an engineering
company based in Italy provided the design for the hydropower project.

London-based Bennie&Partners along with Diyam Consultants were earlier engaged to carry out
the feasibility study for the project which was later reworked by Lahmeyer International. Messrs
Maps Geosystems completed the detailed aerial mapping for the project in 2008.

6. Route Surveys for Transmission lines and sub-station

Essential studies towards the realization of the Mambilla project are the definition of the High
Voltage (HV) transmission line for the evacuation of the generated power. The procurement
process for the engagement of a consultant that would undertake the Line Route Survey of the
transmission corridor line routing has been concluded (FMP Report, 2012). The report is
expected to provide the base data for the design of the HV lines from the Abong powerhouse to
Abong and Makurdi (FMP Report, 2012).

7. Progress made so far.

Although Mambilla hydroelectric project was originally conceived in 1972, it only made
significant progress after 35 years when China’s Gezhouba Group awarded a contract to develop
the project with a 2,600MW installed capacity in 2007.
In August 2010, the ground survey for the project was completed. The environmental approval
was received in December 2011. While The capacity of the project was increased from the initial
2,600MW to 3,050MW by 2012.
By 2016, The project received government approval.

2017
In August, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing awarded the engineering,
procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the project to a consortium made of Sinohydro
Corp., a Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company, China
Gezhouba Group Co., and China Geo-Engineering Corp.
In November, there were attempts to start the construction works, however, due to various
constraints, including landslides, and a lawsuit that had been filed at the International Court of
Arbitration by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company (SPTCL) Limited, a Nigerian
company that lost out on a contract to implement the multi-billion-dollar project, the project
stalled again.

2020
In February there were fresh attempts to resume construction after the government agreed to pay
the SPTCL Company US$ 200M for breach of contract so as to drop any claims relating to the
project.

2021
In May, SPTCL filed another complaint with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris,
after the West African country government failed to pay the former as agreed, delaying the start
of the project further.
November 2021
Sunrise Power Transmission Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPTCL) agreed to waive the US$ 500M
penalty fee incurred by the federal government over multiple defaults of a US$ 200M settlement
agreement on the Mambilla hydroelectric power project in Taraba state and to discontinue the
arbitral proceedings in France.

8. Conclusion

The Mambilla project journey has been in fits and starts. Over the years, the project stalled on
many occasions under both military and democratic governments. Despite the project’s
chequered history, there remains an optimistic future, albeit cautious. Now that the major
obstacles have been resolved, construction will begin. The construction phase needs to proper
planning and close monitoring to avoid further delays. If completed on time, Nigerians could
benefit from a reliable and efficient power supply for many years.