ONDO State Governor Olusegun Mimiko has expressed his administration's preparedness to partner private investors and international agencies to boost power supply for its industrialisation drive.
Mimiko, who said this Monday in Akure while declaring open a capacity building workshop with the theme: "Training on Diffusion of Turbine Technology for Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development in West Africa," said Nigeria "is blessed with vast water bodies to aid hydro-power supply."
He pointed out that his administration was devising means of generating power to grow businesses in the areas that are far away from the gas line.
The governor disclosed that the government established a Small Hydro Power (SHP) committee two years ago in a tripartite relationship among the state government, Bank of Industry (BOI) and the United Nations' Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) regional centre with the intention to make power available for industrial cluster, cottage industries and SME's across the state.
He added that efforts were being intensified by the government's committee in collaboration with the BOI towards establishing SHP plants to power SMEs having identified viable water bodies in the state.
"We appreciate the fact that our IPP initiative is not enough at this point, given its present capacity and have come to embrace the need for power generation for businesses in communities too far from the gas line through small hydro power projects that will take advantage of available water resources in the State."
