Prof. Florence Obi, Vice-Chancellor of the Campus of Calabar, has declared that if the World Bank intervention aimed at delivering sustainable power through solar power projects is finished, the university community will experience significant power relief.
Obi stated this on Tuesday in Calabar, when officials from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) paid her a courtesy call, accompanied by some contractors for the World Bank-assisted Solar Power Project.
The Vice-Chancellor told REA officials that one of the most difficult challenges her administration faced was ensuring a reliable power supply.
She expressed hope that the power project would result in a continuous power supply in the institution, allowing for effective research.
While expressing her enthusiasm for the project, she charged the contractors bidding for the job to do their best to deliver a timely and quality job using the best materials for the job.
“As we all know, the supply of power is critical to every sector, including the University of Calabar.
“Energy is the most difficult challenge that any university faces; the money we invest in energy is enormous, and if this burden of energy can be taken care of by REA through World Bank intervention, the funds we used for energy can be channeled into other areas of need,” she said.
Earlier in his remarks, the team’s leader and REA’s Senior Technical Adviser, Timothy Shekarau, thanked the Vice-Chancellor for her unwavering support of REA’s project implementation.
He informed the VC that the first stage of the project, which included the successful selection of contractors from which UNICAL benefited, had been completed.
He stated that they were at the university to provide an update on the project process as well as to conduct a joint survey with the contractors in order for them to respond to the Request for Proposal (RFP), both technical and financial.
He stated that the goal of REA was to provide the university and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital with a sustainable and clean power supply.
He explained that the projects’ components included the construction of a power plant and the rehabilitation of a university street light.
Other components include the construction of a world-class workshop and training center for energy sector capacity development, as well as distribution and evacuation.
He stated that the goal of having a 24-hour power supply will be met, and that there is a plan in place to ensure the project’s long-term viability.