Electricity: Tinubu breaks ground for NNPCL’s 1,350MW power plant

Electricity
•Project targets $800m annual revenue

By Obas Esiedesa

President Bola Tinubu yesterday laid the foundation for a
1,350 Megawatts power plant belonging to NNPC Limited with an assurance that all distribution bottlenecks will be removed by the government.


The Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant when completed is expected to generate an average of 10.3 million MWh of electricity per year with an expected revenue of $800 million annually.

The GIPP project which is situated on 54.7 hectares of land in Gwagwalada, FCT, consists of three power train blocks of 450MW each. Each block will include two General Electric, GT13E2 gas turbine generators, two heat recovery steam generators, one steam turbine electric generator, one direct air-cooling condenser, balance of plant equipment and a black start diesel generator.

The plant, which will be constructed by China Machinery Engineering Corporation, CMEC, will be powered by gas from the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline that is currently under construction.

President Tinubu said the plant will improve power supply to homes and businesses, adding that through the project jobs will be created for young professionals and local communities.

He expressed the determination of his government to improve the lives of Nigerians through improvement in energy supply.

He said: “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. 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 our administration should serve as a notice to the residents of Abuja and indeed all Nigerians of our determination to bring positive change to this nation.”

He charged NNPCL to ensure that the project is completed in the scheduled three years period.

On his part, the Group CEO of NNPCL, Malam Mele Kyari said, “Currently, NNPC and partners are delivering about 800MW to the national grid from Afam VI and Okpai Phase 1 thermal power plants with combined installed capacity of 1,100MW.

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“We have also completed Okpai Phase 2 project that will add up to 320MW of power to the national grid and progressing with other power plant projects across the country including those along the AKK pipeline route.

“The Gwagwalada IPP is among the NNPC flagship power projects along the AKK corridor. This is part of the 3,600MW cumulative power capacity which includes Kaduna IPP (900MW) and Kano IPP (1,350MW). Just as we have recently commissioned the 50MW Maiduguri Emergency Power plant (MEPP), NNPC will continue to replicate similar viable business opportunities across the nation to ensure energy affordability.”

Okay ooooo

Ashiwaju Jagaban