FG Reopens Mambilla Project With China Energy After Arbitration Victory

By Ayo Susan

The federal government is engaging China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC), also known as Energy China, to determine the most practical delivery model for the Mambilla Hydropower Project, including possible phased implementation.

The move follows Nigeria’s September 17 victory at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration in the $2.35 billion dispute with Sunrise Power.

DECISION HIGHLIGHT

The federal government is treating the arbitration outcome as an opportunity to revisit Mambilla’s delivery architecture, with phased construction emerging as a possible response to the project’s scale and financing requirements.

DECISION MEMO

The significance of the Federal Government’s engagement with China Energy lies in its attempt to move Mambilla from a prolonged contractual dispute towards an executable infrastructure programme.

Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said that the ministry had directed China Energy to examine the available delivery options. Phasing the project could allow construction and financing to be structured around achievable stages rather than requiring the entire project to be delivered as a single undertaking.

The project dates to a 2003 agreement involving Sunrise Power for a 3,050MW plant in Taraba State under a build, operate and transfer arrangement. The subsequent arbitration dispute generated a $2.35 billion claim before Nigeria prevailed at the ICC on September 17.

Tegbe’s broader power strategy places Mambilla alongside smaller hydropower schemes serving agricultural corridors. This suggests that the ministry is approaching hydropower as part of a wider electricity supply strategy rather than treating Mambilla as an isolated megaproject.

The China engagement is also part of a broader effort to connect external financing and engineering capacity with domestic power infrastructure. Tegbe also said China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) had reaffirmed its role in the 1.9GW Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), while China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) had advanced financing arrangements for the $116 million Zungeru evacuation project.

Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock (TBEA) has proposed a $500 million power-equipment manufacturing industrial park, while HengFei Cables has proposed a cable assembly plant and training centre.

The emerging model therefore combines generation, transmission, equipment manufacturing and technical skills. Its effectiveness will depend on whether these commitments progress from agreements into financed and commissioned assets.

“These first 100 days have laid the groundwork for sustained repair and stabilisation,” Tegbe said.

DATA BOX

• Mambilla proposed capacity: 3,050MW.
• Sunrise arbitration claim: $2.35 billion.
• ICC ruling: September 17, in favour of Nigeria.
• Presidential Power Initiative portfolio: 1.9GW.
• Zungeru evacuation project: $116 million.
• Proposed TBEA industrial park: $500 million.
• PPI transmission milestone: first lines targeted for Q1 2027.
• Grid focus: Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridors.
• Mambilla delivery option: possible phased implementation.

WHO WINS / WHO LOSES

Nigeria gains greater room to reconsider Mambilla’s delivery structure following the arbitration outcome.

Chinese engineering and equipment companies could gain significant opportunities across generation, transmission and local manufacturing.

The principal risk falls on any delivery model that fails to resolve financing, execution and technical constraints despite the project’s renewed institutional attention.

POLICY SIGNALS

The Federal Government is signalling a preference for combining international engineering and financing with domestic manufacturing and technical-capacity development.

The proposed phasing of Mambilla also indicates an approach focused on implementation feasibility rather than project scale alone.

INVESTOR SIGNAL

Mambilla’s renewed development could create opportunities across hydropower generation, transmission, equipment supply and associated infrastructure.

For investors, the critical variables will be the selected delivery model, financing structure, contractual arrangements, implementation timetable and integration with the national grid.

RISK RADAR

Mambilla remains a technically and financially complex megaproject. The arbitration victory resolves a major legal obstacle but does not by itself resolve financing, construction, transmission or execution risks.

The central test is whether the new China engagement converts renewed policy attention into a bankable, phased and deliverable project.

Ayo Susan is a journalist, covering business, infrastructure, insurance, technology, society and emerging developments with an emphasis on credible and engaging storytelling.