The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has so far spent $1.1bn on the construction of the $2.8bn Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, announced on Monday.
He also said the pipeline would be energised by the third quarter of this year. Kyari spoke during the inspection of the facility in Akoho village, around the Lokoja end of the gas pipeline project in Kogi State.
“For the benefit of the Nigerian public, this is one of the most massive projects that we run in the company. It is of immense proportion of value to our country and the socio-economic growth of this nation.
“We know that this is a must-deliver project. This project has not stopped for one day. We have continued to fund it, despite the fact that we do not have third-party financing on this project. We have so far spent over $1.1bn on this project from our cash-flow.
“We are as very different company today. We are a commercial company. We have inter-company loans within our company now. This company can fund this project. So we do not need any support on this project. We will deliver this project,” Kyari stated.
He said NNPC Ltd currentlty owed no single dollar to its contractors, adding that it had paid all their invoices.
“There are over 30 sites that are active today in this project and we are very optimistic that we will deliver this project,” Kyari stated.
Last week, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said the $2.8bn natural gas pipeline project was 43 per cent completed.
Osinbajo, who spoke through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation at a function in Abuja, had stated that the AKK pipeline was a major project of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Buhari inaugurated the AKK pipeline project in July 2020, where it was announced that the Bank of China and Sinosure, a Chinese export and credit insurance corporation, were to fund the $2.8bn facility.
Buhari had through a virtual conference, flagged-off the commencement of the construction work on the project at the Ajaokuta and Kaduna camp sites simultaneously.