Transnational Corporation Plc, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in hospitality, agriculture, oil and gas, and power, says it plans to spend $90m to upgrade the generation capacity of its Transcorp Ughelli Power Limited to 715 megawatts from 463MW.
The company, according to its President/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, will also invest about $110m to expand its hotel network beyond the Federal Capital Territory and Calabar, Cross River State, to other state capitals, with that of Lagos already taking shape.
The plans were unveiled at a breakfast meeting hosted by Heirs Holdings in Lagos on Saturday for the chief executives of Transcorp, Africa Prudential Registrars Plc and UBA Capital Plc, who recently won awards for high performance at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The Tony Elumelu-founded Heirs Holdings is the majority investor in the three companies.
Ufudo said since November last year when the company formally took over the Ughelli power plant in Delta State from the Federal Government, it had been able to achieve significant improvement in its operation and raising the electricity generation capacity to 463MW, with plans to expand the capacity to 1,000MW in 18 months.
By raising the plant’s generation capacity to 715MW in less than one year, he said the company had surpassed the target it set in documents submitted to the Bureau of Public Enterprises for its acquisition in which it stated that it would take three years to generate 600MW.
Elumelu had earlier said that plans were afoot to build an integrated energy city in the Niger Delta, where gas to be produced from its two oil blocks would be used to feed the Ughelli power plant.
Transcorp was one of several firms that won bids last year to buy government power assets sold as part of a privatisation meant to end decades of blackout in Nigeria.
Ufudo also said the 100-room Lagos hotel would be located in Ikoyi and managed by the Hilton Group.
“We have concluded all designs; what we are waiting for is the approval from the state building authority to commence construction,” he said.
He said the project was expected to be completed in 36 months.
