Defunct NEPA Helicopters Up For Sale

Four helicopters belonging to defunct Nigeria Electricity Power Authority (NEPA) are up for sale. The four aircraft were inherited by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Ahead of the proposed sale, a value of $720,000 (N259.20m) has been placed on the aircrafts.

TCN, which is the government-owned transmission company, has said that it is ready to put up for sale the Bolkow BO-105 helicopters, parked at the old domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

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According to reports, the helicopters were deployed for surveillance and fixing of faults on power transmission lines across the country.  But they have been sitting idle at the airport for many years.

It was learnt that two of the helicopters, with registration numbers 5N-ASK and 5N-ASJ, had been grounded since 1995 and 1997, respectively. They were manufactured in 1978.

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According to the TCN, it is uneconomical to repair them. However, they can be sold for $100,000 each in their current state.

The other two NEPA helicopters, with registration numbers 5N-BCJ and 5N-EPA, have been idle since 2008. They were valued at $340,000 and $180,000, respectively.

Following the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act in 2005, NEPA became known as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, which was later unbundled into 18 successor companies – 11 distribution companies, six generation companies, and one transmission company.

In November 2013, the Federal Government privatized the Discos and Gencos while retaining the ownership of the TCN.

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