Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC) said that it is closing in towards breaking ground on the $2.8bn plus Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano (AKK) pipeline, a trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project.
The oil corporation expects to begin construction on the 614km long AKK gas pipeline and associated stations in the coming weeks.
Last week, NNPC executed contract agreements for the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and financing for lots 1 and 3 of the 40inch gas pipeline project.
Expected to be completed in the next two years, the AKK gas pipeline will help establish connectivity between the East, West and North parts of Nigeria, which otherwise is non-existent at this point of time.
The new gas pipeline will also facilitate supply of gas and usage of major commercial centers in the Northern corridor of the country to promote power generation and industrial growth.
For Lot 1, which is a 200km pipeline section from Ajaokuta to Abuja Terminal Gas Station, NNPC had given a contract of around $855m to a consortium of OilServe and Oando.
NNPC is yet to give an $835m worth contract for Lot 2, which will be for a 193km pipeline section to be laid out between Abuja to Kaduna.
The oil corporation has already given a contract of around $1.2bn to the Brentex/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) consortium for Lot 3, which is a 221km pipeline section to be built between Kaduna Terminal Gas Station (TGS) and Kano TGS.
NNPC said that the overall project cost of over $2.8bn was approved by the Federal Executive Council in last December.
The company said in a statement: “For so long, NNPC had activated an aggressive gas reforms and implementation drive, requiring accelerated implementation of gas pipeline infrastructure development with specific focus on critical pipeline infrastructure to power plants and industries.”
Since 2010, NNPC had commissioned about 500km of pipelines that are now delivering gas across Nigeria.
