FG extends contract with GE

General Electric has announced the extension of its country-to-country agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria for another five years.

The firm stated that the bilateral agreement extension would include offering of its advanced technology and expertise to address Nigeria’s economy, power, transportation and health sectors.

In a statement released by the GE, a similar agreement was signed with the country in 2009, under late President Shehu Yar’Adua.

The goal of the 2009 agreement was to grow Nigeria’s economy to become one of the largest in the world.

It said, “In 2009, GE signed the C2C agreement with the Nigerian government under late President Yar’Adua. The goal of the agreement was to grow the country’s economy to one of the 20 largest in the world by 2020 — the Vision 20:2020 initiative — and improve the lives of its 167 million citizens.

“Following significant progress, the agreement was revalidated in 2011 by President Yar’Adua’s successor, President Goodluck Jonathan.”

One of the company’s commitments to Nigeria is to add 10,000MW to the national grid.

The statement said since signing the 2009 agreement, GE had added more than 4,000MW “installed capacity” and supplied the turbines used to operate some of the nation’s power plants.

The power company said the work was being done through joint development agreements with other partners and sponsors, including the Independent Power Projects.

Speaking on the results achieved so far, the President and CEO of GE Africa, Jay Ireland, said, “I am incredibly proud of what GE and Nigeria have accomplished together over the past five years.

“GE has invested heavily in the nation by way of finance, people, technology and supply chain capabilities because we share the vision, aspirations and hopes of the government and people. We look forward to the next phase of the C2C relationship and the continued success of the Vision 20:2020 initiative.”

President Jonathan was quoted in the statement as saying he was pleased with the agreement as it would help his government achieve the Vision 20:2020 initiative.

He said, “Our partnership with GE has been very successful and the whole country is seeing the benefits. The country-to-company agreement is an integral part of achieving our Vision 20:2020 initiative, and I am pleased at the positive impact it has had on jobs, transportation infrastructure, power supply and health care.”

Last month, GE said in partnership with the Dangote Foundation, it launched a “skill-building innovation and manufacturing centre, where aspiring makers and builders of all levels can go to develop new skills and learn about modern manufacturing technologies,” called Garages.