President Bola Tinubu on Friday flagged off the 1,350 megawatt (MW) Gwagwalada independent power project (GIPP).
The GIPP is a 54.7 hectares power plant located in Gwagwalada—an investment by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Tinubu while performing the groundbreaking event of the 350MW first phase of the project, said the project would ensure that all distribution bottlenecks are removed until the country becomes an industrialised economy.
According to the President, the plant will improve power supply to homes and businesses, and create more jobs for young professionals and local communities.
“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,” Tinubu said.
“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 of our administration, it should serve as a notice to the residents of Abuja and indeed all Nigerians of our determination to bring positive change to this nation”.
The project is a joint venture by NNPC with China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for the EPC, and General Electric (GE) to run under a long-term service agreement.
The Presidency in a statement said the plant will be powered by gas from the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline that is currently under construction and being financed by NNPC Limited.
The GIPP, when completed, is expected to generate a revenue of $800 million annually.
The President charged the management of NNPC Limited to ensure that the project is completed in the scheduled three years period.
