Nigeria launches massive gas pipeline project

Nigeria has launched a massive gas pipeline project that will run from Ajaokuta town to Kano through Kaduna to link the north of the country with the south.

President Buhari launched the 614-kilometer Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project on Tuesday in a meeting conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US$ 2.6 billion project, is a build-and-transfer Public-Private Partnership (PPP) that will be built by two Chinese companies, Messrs Oilserv/China First Highway Engineering Company and is expected to be completed in two years.

The funding is a loan secured from the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of China.

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While launching the project, President Buhari expressed optimism that upon completion the pipeline will help boost industrialization in Nigeria as well as create employment and foster electricity generation.

Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, has been grappling with unending electricity shortages for decades now. The country’s power output is still below sufficient at less than 7,000MW generating capacity.

The first phase of the gas pipeline project will supply gas to three electricity power stations and later to North Africa. Phase 1 is expected to be completed in 24 months.

The Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline project will transport 3,500 million metric standard cubic feet per day of dehydrated gas from several gas gathering projects located in southern Nigeria.

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According to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the completion of the project will also facilitate the revival of declining industries and the development of new ones on the pipeline’s transit towns.

While directing NNPC to ensure timely completion of the critical projects, President Buhari said his government will expand key critical gas infrastructure in the Country to promote the use of gas in the domestic market.

China is a conspicuous player in Nigeria’s infrastructural development, having also undertaken other projects in the West African country.