The statement attributed to the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris, that the continuation and fast-tracking of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project represents a pivotal step towards unleashing the immense economic potential of Northern Nigeria is a welcome development.
The media aide to the minister, Rabiu Ibrahim, in a press release, said Idris made the remark in Kaduna during a visit to the River Kaduna AKK Gas Pipeline Project site in company of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; the Minister of State for Gas Resources, Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
“The AKK project is focused on unleashing the immense economic potential of Northern Nigeria. The gas that will be transported will bring much-needed energy to homes, businesses, and industries, and will also be available for enabling transportation and bringing down its cost.
“The continuation and fast-tracking of this project, Nigeria’s biggest domestic gas pipeline project so far, by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is a testament to the president’s commitment to the industrialisation and economic prosperity of every part of the country,” the minister said.
He stated that the project was a crucial component of the country’s industrialisation and economic prosperity agenda under President Tinubu, underscoring it as the nation’s largest domestic gas pipeline endeavour to date.
Idris pointed out the critical link between economic development and security, stressing that many security challenges in the North stemmed from economic deprivation “which can be alleviated by job creation and economic prosperity.”
According to the minister, “Energising homes, farms, and industries are pivotal for large-scale job creation.”
He highlighted the nationwide impact of similar projects, saying “last month saw the commissioning of three vital gas infrastructure projects in the Niger Delta.”
He said another visit would take place on Saturday to Rivers state to inspect the OB3 Pipeline River Niger Crossing Project, another transformational gas initiative.
The minister added that the AKK would boost the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG), saying that “it has already attracted over USD 50 million in private investments.
“This initiative aims to establish CNG conversion and refueling facilities across the nation, furthering Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging its abundant gas resources.”
The information minister expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s vision for the “Decade of Gas,” which seeks to harness the country’s gas resources for comprehensive national development.
“The AKK pipeline project is a beacon of hope, promising to revive, restore, and revitalise economic prospects for Nigerians.”
It is instructive that the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline is a 614km-long pipeline being developed by the NNPCL to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to central Nigeria.
The AKK) pipeline, which contract was awarded in April 2018 by the immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari administration, will be the first major gas pipeline to be developed in Nigeria.
The £2.2bn ($2.8bn) pipeline project represents phase one of the 1,300km-long Trans-Nigerian Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project, which is being developed as part of Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan to utilise the country’s surplus gas resources for power generation as well as for consumption by domestic customers.
The TNGP project also forms part of the proposed 4,401km-long Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) to export natural gas to customers in Europe. Nigeria holds Africa’s biggest and one of the world’s biggest gas reserves. Its proved natural gas reserves stand at 188 trillion cubic feet (tcf) comprising 99tcf of associated gas and 89tcf of non-associated gas.
The AKK pipeline is planned to be developed on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis under public-private partnership (PPP), supervised by Nigeria’s Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
The AKK gas pipeline project is planned to be financed through 85% debt and 15% equity. The loan facility is being provided by the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) at London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) interest rate plus 3.7% with a 12-year repayment period.
The Nigerian government decided to issue a sovereign guarantee to back the loan facility for the pipeline in March 2020. The AKK will originate at the Ajaokuta terminal gas station (TGS) in Kogi state in central Nigeria and pass through Niger state, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Kaduna to terminate at a gas station at Kano. The pipeline will cross seven major rivers and 10 major roads along its route.
The AKK pipeline project is divided into four segments. The first segment will run from Ajaokuta to Abuja in the FCT for a total distance of approximately 200km.
The second segment will extend for 193km from the Abuja TGS to the Kaduna TGS, while the third segment will stretch for 97km from Kaduna to Zaria and the fourth and final section of the pipeline will run for approximately 124km from Zaria to the Kano TGS.
The AKK pipeline will transport up to 3,500 million cubic feet (mcf) of gas a day from various gas gathering projects in southern Nigeria. Hydrocarbon liquids will be processed at Ajaokuta to produce liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), while the remaining gas will be transported to supply feedstock for new power plants and petrochemical facilities at Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina.
The inspection of the AKK gas pipeline project site in Kaduna by three ministers underscores its importance as a catalyst to the acceleration of Nigeria’s socio-economic development. In as much as this right foot forward is laudable, we urge the federal government to walk its talk in the actualisation of the AKK gas pipeline project.