Egbin Power appoints Bounour CEO to drive ongoing transformation

By Olivia Nnorom

The board of Egbin Power Plc, a Sahara Power Group company, has announced the appointment of Mokhtar Bounour as chief executive officer of the company.

Bounour’s appointment is expected to accelerate Egbin’s ongoing transformation and propel its energy mix transition towards enhanced environmental sustainability, the board said.

Kola Adesina, group managing director, Sahara Power Group, said Bounour would also lead plant optimisation strategies and spearhead the company’s Emissions Reduction and Resource Efficiency targets.

Prior to the appointment, Egbin’s recent investment in overhauls, technology and human capital has yielded three times the generation threshold of about 300 MW when it was acquired in 2013 to almost 1,000 MW. The company has also achieved 670,000kg of CO2 emission eliminated by reducing fossil energy consumption, 14.1 percent reduction in energy intensity of electrical energy, and over 1,000 trees planted to safeguard the environment.

According to Adesina, Egbin is banking on the new chief executive officer to expand its capacity up to its 1,320 MW installed capacity, using a mix of alternative clean energy sources.

Egbin’s clean energy commitment manifests in several decarbonising projects, including enabling its employees to contribute to carbon-emission reduction through daily commuting on the company’s electric buggies, bicycles and scooters, leaving employees healthier and the environment cleaner.

Speaking on his appointment, Bounour said he was delighted at the opportunity to steer the future of the “iconic African power plant”, noting that his interactions with the Board indicate that “the future holds a firm promise of unparalleled growth and sustained world-class performance in Egbin”.

Bounour holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s degree in Management and Leadership, Business Administration and International Relations. He has worked in Europe for the better part of his career, and prior to joining Egbin Power Plc, Bounour led Fertiberia Spain as CEO of Fertial and, thereafter, became business development director for Africa, Middle East and Turkey.

With 24 years of experience across Africa, Europe and Middle-East, Bounour has led multi-functional teams in EPC construction, operations and maintenance, power generation and fertilizers plants. He is multilingual, being fluent in French, English and Spanish – an attribute that is expected to further propel diversity at Egbin Power which has employees from different nationalities.

Bounour’s experience cuts across setting strategic direction for revamping, rehabilitation and management of change, contracts management, formulation, integration and auditing with implementation of effective customer coordination. Others include sales, business development projects, engineering and turnover acceptance policies, procedures and systems management for organizations.