The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Friday said the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project will be delivered by the first quarter of 2025.
Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer
of NNPC Ltd, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Mr Soneye said the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC
Ltd, Mele Kyari disclosed this during the visit of three cabinet ministers to
the project site where they inspected the River Kaduna crossing milestone of
the project in Kaduna, on Friday.
“Without promising too much, we assure you that this Project
will be delivered on schedule. Our mission is to work towards delivering it by
December this year. But we are confident this project will be delivered by the
first quarter of 2025,” Mr Kyari said.
He explained that the NNPC Ltd recognises the strategic
importance and enormous value of the project to Nigeria’s economy, noting that
the company was bankrolling the project on the back of its own balance sheet.
The three ministers who visited the project site, according
to the statement, were Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the
Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Information & National Orientation,
Mohammed Idris and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe
Ekpo.
NNPC Ltd said the AKK gas pipeline and stations project is a
flagship project that will deepen the integration of the northern region of the
country with the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
The pipeline can transport two billion standard cubic feet
of natural gas per day to three proposed independent power plants in Abuja,
Kaduna, Kano, and other gas-based industries as well as other identified and
proposed commercial off-takers along the entire pipeline route.
Since the flag-off of the project by Mr Buhari in June 2020,
the NNPC Ltd said it has recorded significant feats and the project is well on
course to deliver on schedule.
In April 2023, the NNPC Ltd said the project had reached
almost 70 per cent completion.
Speaking at the project site on Friday, according to the
statement, Mr Edun described the AKK gas pipeline as the pipeline of
prosperity, which is very dear to the president, because it will deliver the
critical infrastructure needed to trigger the nation’s economic growth and
industrialisation.
“The AKK gas pipeline is crucial for this administration and
its delivery is in line with Mr president’s strategy of bringing prosperity to
the people,” Mr Edun said.
Also speaking, Mr Ekpo said the gas pipeline is part of the
federal government’s many efforts to harness the nation’s abundant gas
resources towards improving power generation, revamping ailing industries, and
creating employment opportunities in the country.
He urged all stakeholders to support the NNPC Ltd towards
delivering the project and several other gas projects as the country depends on
it to bring prosperity to the people.
In his remarks, Mr Idris said the AKK gas Pipeline project
is a testimony to the fact that the federal government’s “Decade of Gas” has
commenced in earnest.
“Nigerians should be proud of the AKK gas pipeline project.
With the delivery of this project, the prosperity that Mr president is always
talking about is unraveling right here before our eyes,” he said.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, represented by his
deputy, Hadiza Balarabe, said the completion of the AKK gas pipeline will
herald the much-needed economic and industrial revival in the state.
“If you know about the Kakuri Industrial Area and how most
of our factories there have become moribund, you will understand why we in
Kaduna state are all excited about the AKK gas pipeline.
“Without doubt, the pipeline will revamp our industries and
bring about a huge impact on our people. We can’t wait for it to be completed.”