TheCable

Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano, says the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project will revive dead industries and create more jobs in the state.

Ganduje said this when he received Lekan Ogunleye, managing director of Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited, in Kano on Tuesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had flagged off the $2.8 billion AKK gas pipeline project in June 2020.

The pipeline is a section of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) and it is expected to be completed by 2023.

It will originate from Ajaokuta terminal gas station (TGS) in Kogi state and pass through Niger, Abuja and Kaduna then it will terminate in Kano.

It has the capacity to unlock 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas to the domestic market and support the addition of 3,600 megawatts of power to the national grid.

Ganduje also said the project will create a huge economic impact in Kano.

“I was personally elated when Mr. President announced approval for implementation of the project. With sustained gas supply to Kano, all our dead industries will be revived and more jobs will be created,” he said.

“With industrial clusters at Bompai, Sharada, Challawa 1 and 2, Tokarawa and Tamburawa, the gas project would fast track industrialisation in Kano, which is currently Nigeria’s most populous state.

“I am also happy that this project will be augmented by recently approved Ibadan-Kano-Maradi and the Kano–Dutse rail line project as well as the reconstruction of Kano-Kaduna-Abuja road, which is in progress. These projects mean a lot for our people.”

Ganduje further said the project would consolidate the state’s position as Nigeria’s historic commercial nerve centre, adding that Kano is presently the market for states in Northern Nigeria and among Chad, Cameroon and Niger republic.