President Tinubu inaugurates phase 1 of NNPC, partners, 1,350 MW gas based Gwagwalada power project in Abuja

Oredola Adeola

President Bola Tinubu has  performed  the groundbreaking ceremony of the 1,350 MegaWatt Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant (GIPP) project being developed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC) and General Electric Nigeria (GEN), in Abuja, Nigeria, as part of the commitment to address country’s power deficit.

President Tinubu in his address at the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, monitored by EnergyDay, described the project as his administration’s “bold statement” towards fulfilling our promise to provide clean and efficient energy to Nigerians.

Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, earlier in his remark at the ceremony , said that the groundbreaking of the 350MW project being the first phase of the planned capacity of 1,350MW GIPP is in acknowledgment of the progressive policy direction of President Tinubu’s administration to renew hope and reposition the Nigerian economy.

According to him, the esteemed presence of President Tinubu at the groundbreaking ceremony was a clear demonstration of his commitment and support to improve the Nation’s power generation capacity to spur economic growth for Nigeria.

He said, “Nigeria is endowed with significant natural gas resources of over 209trillion cubic feet(TCF) of proven gas reserves and potential reserves of over 600TCF.

“As a commercial enterprise, NNPC sees this project as an opportunity to monetize our abundant natural gas resources, by expanding access to energy to support economic growth, industrialization, and job creation across the country.

“To achieve this national aspiration, NNPC has invested heavily in domestic gas footprint expansion projects through the delivery of the Trans-Nigeria Pipeline project (TNGP) which includes the Escravos to Lagos pipeline system (ELPS & ELPS II) the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline.

“This project is a giant step towards achieving NNPC’s gas and power mandate to add 5GW into the national power generation by 2024.

“Currently, NNPC and partners are delivering about 800MW to the national grid from Afam VI and Okpai Phase 1 thermal power plants with a combined installed capacity of 1,100MW.

“We have also completed Okpai Phase 2 project that will add up to 320MW of power to the national grid and progress with other power plant projects across the country including those along the AKK pipeline route.

” The Gwagwalada IPP is among the NNPC flagship power project along the AKK corridor. This is part of the 3600MW cumulative power capacity which includes Kaduna IPP(900MW) and Kano(1350MW) .

“The project will be delivered in collaboration with GE as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and CMEC as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor.

“Like the recently commissioned 50MW Maiduguri Emergency Power plant (MEPP) , NNPC will continue to replicate similar viable business opportunities across the Nation to ensure energy affordability,” the NNPCL GCEO said.

Kyari, therefore, noted that expanding access to energy will change the game. It will create a better investment climate and promote balanced economic growth, a win-win situation to alleviate energy poverty and enhance the socio-economic development of Nigeria.