By Stella Odueme
The West African Power Pool (WAPP) North Core 330kV Interconnection Project, designed to link Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo, has attained 75 per cent completion, with participating countries and development partners intensifying efforts to address outstanding challenges and ensure its timely delivery.
According to a statement on Thursday, the development was disclosed at the 8th Joint Supervision Mission of the project's financing partners, held in Abuja from October 26 to November 6, 2026.
The meeting brought together representatives of participating countries and development partners to assess implementation progress, identify outstanding issues and agree on measures to fast-track the remaining construction works.
Speaking on behalf of the Chairman of the WAPP Executive Board and Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, the General Manager, Programme Coordination, TCN, Engr. Aminu Tahir, called for sustained cooperation, timely decisions and stronger stakeholder commitment to ensure the project's successful completion.
Tahir said the progress recorded so far reflected the collective efforts of engineers, technicians, project personnel, participating governments and development partners.
He stressed the need to complete the outstanding works and ensure the project delivers reliable infrastructure to support electricity exchange and strengthen power systems across the region.
Similarly, the WAPP Secretary General, Mr Abdoulaye Dia, represented by the Director of Planning, Investment Programming and Environmental Safeguards, Mr Kodjo Afidegnon, described the project as a major component of West Africa's regional electricity integration efforts.
He recalled that the initiative, launched in 2019, was designed to improve electricity supply security, facilitate cross-border power trade and strengthen the regional electricity market.
Dia identified insecurity along sections of the project corridor, flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, political challenges and border closures as some of the factors responsible for implementation delays and increased costs.
He explained that construction activities had been suspended in some locations to protect workers from security threats.
Despite the challenges, he said collaboration among participating countries, electricity utilities and financing partners had helped sustain progress.
In Benin, the Malanville substation has received provisional acceptance, while construction work on the Niger River crossing is ongoing.
Burkina Faso has commissioned the Ouaga Est and Ouaga Sud-Est substations, alongside 33 kilometres of 225kV transmission lines connecting the facilities to the network.
In Niger, equipment installed at the Niamey II and Gazaoua substations has been operational since July, helping stabilise the two existing 132kV interconnection lines supplying electricity from Nigeria.
In Nigeria, construction of the 330kV transmission line is ongoing, alongside preparations for its connection to the national grid.
The project has also recorded progress in its environmental and social commitments, including compensation for 5,726 project-affected persons, with almost all reported grievances resolved.
It has equally provided electricity to 170 communities in Burkina Faso and Niger and generated 2,483 jobs along the project corridor.
A representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) called for a results-driven supervision mission capable of identifying practical solutions to implementation bottlenecks, addressing security concerns and improving contractor performance.
The representative stressed that efforts to accelerate construction must not undermine environmental and social safeguards, workers' health and safety or the protection of host communities.
The bank also warned that delays in any participating country could affect the overall benefits of the regional interconnection, noting that the completion of critical infrastructure in Niger remained essential to achieving the project's objectives.
AfDB reaffirmed its commitment to supporting WAPP, participating governments and national electricity utilities in resolving outstanding challenges and completing the project.
The North Core Interconnection Project is expected to strengthen electricity connectivity across West Africa, expand cross-border power trade and improve the reliability of electricity supply among participating countries.
The meeting was attended by representatives of AfDB, the World Bank, the WAPP North Core Project Management Unit, energy and finance ministries of participating countries and national electricity utilities from Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.