The Federal Government is ready to sign an agreement with India to commit $100 million credit to boost the power sector. The agreement between the two coun-tries is expected to be signed soon.

India High Commis-sioner in Nigeria, Mahesh Sachdev, disclosed this at the inauguration of manufacturing and repair transmission equipment plant of Skipper Group in Lagos.

The Indian High Com-missioner also announced that 12 large companies in his country have expressed interest in the Nigerian power privatisation programme.

“We have also been engaged in supporting Nigerian power sector through professional capacity building in India under our ITEC training programme. India, Nig-eria’s second largest trading partner, has both the capacity and exper-tise to support Nigeria’s ambitious development plans in the power sector,” he said.

He said the Skipper Group had, over the years, invested in the country to create manufacturing, repair capacity, transfer of technology and generate employment, adding that the Indian company had shown faith in Nigeria’s power sector.

He said the company, in conjunction with Bharat Heavy Electrical, signed an MoU with the Ministry of Power in November 2009 for putting up three 500MW coal-based power plants in Nigeria.

“Thus this state-of-the-art plant is not only first of its kind in Africa, but it is a potent symbol of an Indian company’s commitment to Nigerian power sector. This inauguration can also be seen as relevant input to the transformational agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in which power occupies a pride of place,” the envoy stressed.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, said the location of the plant in Nigeria by the firm was a manifestation of the confidence it reposed in the country’s power sector.

According to him, the present administration was doing its  best to bring more investors into the sector with a view to making it viable and delivering efficient and uninterrupted power in line with its aspiration in the sector.