SOME top United States (U.S.) companies, including Chevron, Caterpillar, General Electric and US Exim Bank are sending senior officials to be led by the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, to Nigeria next week on an energy and power sector trade mission.
A statement by the Nigerian Embassy in the U.S. also said the Nigerian Ambassador, Prof. Ade Adefuye will be part of the two-day mission. The team members are expected to arrive in Nigeria on Monday February 13.
Other U.S. companies listed to visit Nigeria and three other African nations between this week and the next include Anadarko Petroleum, Helm Holdings, Energy International, Strategic Urban Development Alliance, Symbion and Zanbato energy firms. A complement of U.S. government officials drawn from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and Corporate Council for Africa (CCA) are also part of the mission, which is focusing on how U.S. companies can help Nigeria generate affordable power, especially for business.
A statement from the US State Department earlier in the week disclosed that other countries to be visited by the energy trade mission are Mozambique, Tanzania, and Ghana. There will also be a stop-over in Kenya.
According to one of the U.S. government officials on the trip, the mission would be to look at "potential investment projects with the aim of enhancing the countries' ability to generate electric power."
Mr. Jim Wilson, who is the Senior Coordinator for trade promotion and commercial policy in the Africa Bureau of the US State Department added that "the basic objective of the trade mission is to make significant progress on increasing U.S. private-sector investment in power infrastructure projects that have the potential to increase overall development in these countries by significantly reducing the cost of doing business."
The trade mission will also determine "if U.S. power developers would be able to invest in generating facilities and fuel supply that help address the needs in Africa for reliable and affordable electricity," Wilson said.
The US Energy Trade Mission, including U.S. government and private-sector executives "will meet host countries' senior government officials to discuss challenges for U.S. private-sector investment in energy infrastructure projects."
It was learnt that the mission's delegates from the American business community will represent firms that are "in a position to advance large-scale on-grid generation and fuel supply projects" while discussions are to include specific constraints in attracting private-sector investment in the power generation and fuel supply sectors.
According to the State Department's statement, a trade mission of this type is important because of the huge "constraints that the lack of reliable electricity place on African development. It's almost like a tax that is paid where companies in Nigeria or Mozambique either can't get reliable power or have to pay a very high price with backup generators and expensive diesel fuel to be able to have security of supply."
Quoting Wilson, the statement said "if African businesses could have access to power as companies in the United States and Britain do, they could produce products that would be more affordable for local markets and for export abroad."
Wilson added that each country selected for this trade mission presents significant opportunities for investment in electric power.
The Guardian