Three Gorges project builder signs contract for Nigeria hydropower project

Chinese construction giant China Gezhouba Group Corp. (CGGC), the main builder of the Three Gorges project, said Tuesday a CGGC-led consortium has signed a contract with the Nigerian government to build a hydropower project valued at 5.792 billion U.S. dollars.

The Mambilla hydropower project is the largest infrastructure project in Nigeria and also the largest hydropower plant Chinese firms have ever built overseas, the Wuhan-based CGGC said on its official WeChat mobile messaging account.

The consortium includes CGGC, Sinohydro Corp. Ltd. and CGCOC Group Co. Ltd, with stakes of 45 percent, 35 percent and 20 percent, respectively, CGGC said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The project, expected to be completed in 87 months, involves building four dams and installing 12 generators totaling 3,050 megawatts. Upon completion, it will be capable of generating about 4.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity a year.

Other construction work includes 1,295 kilometers of transmission lines and 184 kilometers of access roads.

The project will ease the power shortage and become a reliable water source for local residents and farmland in the African country, CGGC said, adding that the project's builders will employ 5,000 to 8,000 local workers and train 1,000 managerial and technical personnel.