By Oscarline Onwuemenyi
ABUJA – The preferred bidder for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Management Contract held in 2007, Power Grid of India, has announced its readiness to take over the management of the electricity transmission system of the country.

The announcement was made when the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Mahesh Sachdev, led a delegation of two of Indian foremost electricity companies, POWERGRID Corporation and NTPC Limited to the office of the Minister of Power, in Abuja.

According to the High Commissioner, the visit was in connection with Management Contract of Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, for which Power Grid of India emerged as the preferred bidder in 2007.

He said the delegation had come to reaffirm their commitment in carrying out work for the improvement of the Nigerian Transmission System for faster economic transformation.

Power Grid Corporation of India is the largest Power Transmission Utility, PTU, in India and the third largest PTU in the world.

It is the Central Transmission Utility, CTU, in India responsible for planning, construction, operation and maintenance of transmission network in the India sub century.

Sachdev noted that the striking similarities between the two nations demand that India and Nigeria could be economic talking point of the globe in the next decade if they work together and appropriately deploy their surplus natural and human gifts.

The Envoy noted that at the moment, Indian authorities were hosting more than 30 engineers of the Ministry of Power in various capacity enhancement programmes in Indian Institutions.

Meanwhile, the federal government has said it is taking special note of the exceptional interest the Indian government has taken in the development of her power sector in particular.

The Minister of State for Power, Mr. Nuhu Wya, who conveyed the government’s gratitude noted that diplomatic relations between the India Subcontinent and Nigeria, had taken a great leap as a result of the versatility and commitment of the High Commissioner since his arrival to Nigeria.

He told the delegation that Nigeria has taken irreversible steps to confront the electricity challenges of the country through some bold steps earmarked by a Roadmap.

Wya described the content of the Roadmap as an interpretation of existing laws which had been in existence which succeeding administrations in the country lacked the will to enforce.