President Muhammadu Buhari has flagged off the construction phase of the $2.8bn Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project on Tuesday, June 30.
The Presidential flag off which was performed virtually from the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, was with simultaneous online connection to two locations: Rigachukun, Kaduna State and Ajaokuta Steel Complex, in Kogi State.
At Ajaokuta, venue of the event in Kogi state, Governor Yahaya Bello, performed the physical flag-off ceremony on behalf of the President.
The natural gas project is a joint venture project between Oilserv Limited, an indigenous oil and gas pipelines and facilities company, and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It forms the first phase of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project which is part of the 4,401km-long Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) to export natural gas to countries in Europe.
The project, expected to be completed within a 24-month with capacity to transport about 2.2billion cubic feet of gas per day.
It is to be executed in three phases, with phase one covering the construction of a 200km-long segment between Ajaokuta and Abuja Terminal Gas Station at a cost of $855 million.
On the other hand, phase two will comprise a 193km-long section to be built between Abuja and Kaduna at a cost of approximately $835 million.
The third phase will involve the construction of a 221km-long section between the Kaduna Terminal Gas Station (TGS) and Kano TGS at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion.
The economic benefits of the AKK pipeline is boost domestic utilization of natural gas for Nigeria’s social economic development, when completed.
See photos from the project site and inauguration ceremony below;
