Governance
$4bn Makurdi power project: Benue begins technical preparations
Benue plans $4bn hydropower project, targets 1,650MW electricity generation
From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi
The Benue State Government has commenced preparations for the establishment of a hydropower project in Makurdi estimated at $4 billion, with a projected electricity generation capacity of 1,650 megawatts (MW).
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Benue Investment Promotion Agency (BENIPA), Dr Johnpaul Kpenkaan, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists on the activities and achievements of the agency since its establishment two years ago.
Kpenkaan said the Makurdi Hydropower Project was conceived as a major energy infrastructure initiative aimed at increasing electricity supply in Benue while also providing irrigation capacity with potential benefits beyond the state.
He, however, stressed that the scale of the proposed project required rigorous technical, financial, legal, environmental, social and fiscal scrutiny before it could proceed.
According to him, BENIPA has commenced the necessary whole-of-government preparations for the proposed project, involving eight ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the state government.
He said the agency had also trained 28 civil servants at directorate level to work with the project’s data vault, a controlled digital repository containing technical, financial and regulatory information.
Kpenkaan said the participating MDAs had been guided to review and compile relevant information within their respective mandates, while preparations were underway for a state-wide technical retreat to assess the proposal, identify information gaps and agree on recommendations for the required institutional approval process.
He explained that, subject to the outcome of the reviews and approvals, the unsolicited proposal could proceed to a transparent Swiss Challenge at the procurement stage. This would allow other qualified investors to challenge the proposal, enabling the state to test the market and seek value for money.
“This is not yet an approved, financed or implemented project. It is a major opportunity undergoing disciplined project preparation. That distinction is precisely what responsible investment delivery requires,” Kpenkaan said.
He added that an expression of interest or memorandum of understanding should not be interpreted as proof that a project had secured financing or commenced implementation.
“Our responsibility is to keep testing each opportunity until it becomes a credible transaction or is set aside,” he said.
The BENIPA boss also disclosed that the agency had facilitated investment commitments valued at approximately $4.55 billion across 12 major public-private partnership and structured investment transactions in 2025.
He clarified that the $4.55 billion represented the estimated value of facilitated commitments in the agency’s portfolio as of the end of 2025 and did not mean that the state had received the amount as cash, deployed it as capital or earned it as revenue.
Kpenkaan said the 12 transactions were at different stages, with some having signed agreements, others undergoing feasibility studies or due diligence, while some remained at preliminary preparation stages
He said the portfolio covered agro-processing, energy, mechanised agriculture, hospitality, community infrastructure and legacy-asset recovery.
According to him, BENIPA also hosted targeted engagements with potential investors, including a mini-investment forum supported by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, which featured a guided visit involving 15 investors.
He said the agency was also supporting Benue’s positioning in strategic agricultural value chains, including the Federal Government’s national soybean production expansion initiative
On the proposed National Food City Complex, Kpenkaan said the project illustrated how structured preparation could move an investment proposal from conception to agreement and towards implementation.
He described the project as a proposed $250 million integrated agro-industrial development in the Otukpo axis, with a wider footprint extending towards Obi and Ado Local Government Areas.
According to him, the project is being developed in partnership with Rexzodeneh Group Limited under a design, build, operate and transfer model.
He said the state government granted provisional approval for the project in July 2024, while a memorandum of understanding signed in April 2025 commenced the formal structuring process.
Kpenkaan said BENIPA subsequently led negotiations and coordinated technical, financial, legal and environmental inputs from 13 MDAs before the state and the investor executed the public-private partnership agreement on May 9, 2025.
He described the agreement as the first formal PPP agreement of its kind in the state’s 50-year history.
He said the project subsequently moved through land and community processes, culminating in the formal handover of the site to the investor in January 2026, with a directive to commence preliminary works.
Kpenkaan disclosed that the State Executive Council approved the relevant implementation step on September 2, 2026, while the state and the investor executed a Financial Close Agreement on September 7.
He said the agreement was signed at a ceremony presided over by Governor Hyacinth Alia and represented by his Deputy, Dr Sam Ode.
He added that the contract for the access road was awarded on September 18, with the contractor already mobilised and preparatory activities underway.
“The formal groundbreaking is planned,” he said.
Kpenkaan stressed that moving an investment from an agreement to actual implementation required several milestones, including approvals, land access, financing arrangements, enabling infrastructure, contractor mobilisation and continued regulatory compliance.
“Each milestone reduces a different category of risk,” he said.