One of the consortia executing Nigerian government’s Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Natural Gas Pipeline (AKKP), Brentex Pretroleum Services Ltd/China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd (CPP), has assured that foreign exchange (forex) scarcity would not disrupt the project. He also reiterated that the 2022 delivery target remained sacrosanct.
The executive vice chairman of the Brentex/CPP consortium, Sani Abubakar, made this pledge during an inspection visit to the project site by the Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.
Receiving the two ministers and the GMD at the BrentexCPP Line Pipe Stackyard in Dankande, Kaduna State, Mr Abubakar said the consortium had increased the momentum of work on its segment of the project.
“We know the significance of this project to the Federal Government in terms of creating jobs, powering the economy and engendering the nations industrialization. We assure Nigerians that we will live up to our billing by delivering the project on time and within cost,” he said.
Mr Abubakar said in line with the consortium’s corporate social responsibility policy, it has decided to build a pipeline academy that will afford Nigerians, and other Africans, the opportunity to learn about welding and other pipeline construction operations.
“We shall have three project camp facilities along the Niger-Kaduna-Kano corridor of the AKK Gas Pipeline Project. One is located here in Dankande, Kaduna another one will be just after Zaria and the third one will be just by the AKK Terminal Gas Station in Kano,” Mr Abubakar noted.
According to him, during the construction phase of the project, there will be activities stretching the pipeline construction to the extent of 50kms either side of operations.
“At the end of the day, we shall arrive at the 316kms of 40-inch gas pipeline connecting the project at Sarkin Pawa in Niger State and delivering gas to Kaduna all the way to Kano,” he added.
Premium Times reports that the Consortium reiterated that the project’s delivery target of 24 months would be met.
It is estimated at $2.8 billion, is a 614km-long natural gas pipeline being developed by NNPC.
The pipeline is laid between Ajaokuta and Kano in Nigeria and forms phase one of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project that would exceed Nigeria’s boundary.
Premium Times reports that it is being implemented via a build and transfer (BT) public-private partnership (PPP) model, which involves the contractor providing 100 per cent of the funding.
President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the project in June 2020.
It will feature a diameter of 40-in. and is expected to transport 3,500 million metric standard cubic feet per day (Mmscfd) of dehydrated wet gas from several gas gathering projects located in southern Nigeria.
The AKK pipeline project forms part of the TNGP development, which is included in the gas infrastructure blueprint of Nigeria.
The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for phase one was awarded to OilServe /Oando consortium, while Brentex /China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) consortium was awarded the EPC contract for phase three.
Nigeria has been battling with acute foreign exchange scarcity since 2015 when it suffered huge revenue shortage arising from oil price shock in the international market.
This has led to rapid depreciation of the local currency and continued uptrend in inflation rate.