TheCable

President Bola Tinubu has flagged off the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s Gwagwalada independent power project (GIPP).

Tinubu said the project would ensure that all distribution bottlenecks are removed until the country becomes an industrialised economy.

The president spoke on Friday while performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the project’s 350MW first phase.

He said the plant will improve power supply to homes and businesses, and create more jobs for young professionals and local communities.

“Government will ensure that all distribution bottlenecks are removed and will be removed. We cannot become a productive and industrialised economy unless you can generate, transmit, and distribute electricity,” Tinubu said.

“To accelerate our economic growth, we must remove every obstacle on our [way] to energy sufficiency. That this project is taking off so early in the life of our administration, it should serve as a notice to the residents of Abuja and indeed all Nigerians of our determination to bring positive change to this nation”.

The GIPP project is a 1,350MW combined cycle power plant that will sit an already acquired 54.7 hectares of land in Gwagwalada.

The project is led by NNPC in a joint venture with China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for the EPC, and General Electric (GE) for the long-term service agreement.

According to a statement from the presidency, the plant will be powered by gas from the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline that is currently under construction.

When completed, the GIPP is expected to generate a revenue of $800 million annually.

Tinubu charged NNPC to ensure that the project is completed in the scheduled three years period.