Nigeria is to invest 33 billion naira (about 254 million U.S. dollars) into the National Integrated Power Project to improve investment environment, a high- ranking official has said.

Speaking at the opening of a stakeholders' workshop organized by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Monday, Minister of State for Power and Steel Alhaji Ahmed Abdulhamid said the investment would increase existing power generation capacity to 10,000 MW by 2007.

According to him, seven new power stations will be constructed and 2,811-km-long 330kv and 132kv transmission lines before the turn of the decade.

Other facilities to be established are 4,367 km of distribution lines and 15 billion naira (about 115.4 million dollars) gas pipeline as well as associated transmission infrastructure.

He said the first phase of the project would be completed in July next year while the second phase would end by November 2007.

Power supply is a big headache in Nigeria's economic construction and development as its current power generating capacity can only meet one fourth of the nation's demands.

Source: Xinhua