Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, which is being developed by the NNPC Limited to transport natural gas from southern to northern Nigeria, will be completed before the end of next year. Engineer Emeka Okwuosa, Chairman/Group Chief Executive of Oilserv Limited, one of the major companies executing the pipeline project revealed this in Cairo, Egypt in an interview with some journalists on the sideline of the Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) held in the Egyptian capital from November 9-15, 2023.
Okwuosa said the multi-million dollar project will be delivered in good time despite some logistics and security problems, because of the strong commitment of the NNPC to the project. He assured that funding is not an issue because the NNPC has been forthcoming with funding of the over 614-kilometer pipeline project despite the fact that the debt aspect of the funding that ought to come from China has yet to come.
The AKK pipeline outcome will be the laying of a pipeline network that connects Nigeria’s northern, western, and eastern regions. By making use of Nigeria’s abundant gas resources, it also seeks to establish a reliable and stable gas supply network connecting the country’s northern and southern regions. Furthermore, it is anticipated that the development will lessen the significant amount of gas flared each year in Nigeria and the ensuing environmental damage.
Okwuosa whose company was one of the major exhibitors at the IATF praised the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), one of the main organizers of the trade fair, for such a fantastic initiative, urging the entire African community to rally round the bank in the effort to achieve an integrated Africa. He stated that Oilserv’s participation and engagements in the trade fair is one of the ways the company is supporting the bank’s dream of increasing the quantum of intra African trade.
He also said that attending the trade fair provided him an opportunity to meet with companies from other African countries that are involved in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract like Oilserv to look at possible areas of cooperation. “For me, being in Egypt is very important. We can work with other companies in Africa in so many fields of development which is also an aspect of the much desired economic integration of Africa. Afreximbank has made a lot of impact on Africa than we can ordinarily achieve while doing things individually. We need to encourage Afreximbank by participating and allowing it to grow its ideas on African development”. He added that “deals are being signed and more will be signed, and we have been holding good discussions and are really engaging more”.