The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) says it will establish 4,600 power plants in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.

A statement in Abuja by the NNPC spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, said this would be done through the recently-approved contract for the construction of Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Gas Pipeline project, dubbed AKK Pipeline.

According to the statement, the AKK pipeline has started yielding early benefits with the commitment by NNPC to build power-generating plants with combined capacity of 4550 megawatts in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano States.

Ughamadu quoted the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, as saying that the Corporation in partnership with private investors would build power-generating plants to support Federal Government’s effort to providing stable electricity in the country.

“As part of the drive to establish power plants to augment the power supply to the nation, the Federal Executive Council has recently approved the AKK Gas Pipeline project to be financed through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

“The project comes with other auxiliary ones which include, 1,350 megawatts, 900 megawatts and 2,350 megawatts of power generation plants in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano respectively,” the statement quotes Baru.

It said the NNPC in partnership with private investors would also build fertilizer plants in some parts of the country, one of which would be located at Izzon, Niger State.

The statement said in line with the presidential mandate on oil exploration in all the frontier basins, the NNPC was well-focused on the exploration in the Bida Basin.

“We have contracted the geological mapping of the Bida Basin to Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai and the job would be completed in three months,” it stated.

Ughamadu said the corporation would go into more detailed seismic data acquisition in the Bida Basin by August 2018, to be followed by an Environmental Impact Assessment exercise.

He said as part of the corporation’s effort to decongest the highways, the NNPC would encourage private investors to build tanker parking facilities around Minna Depot, Suleja Depot, Tegina, Mokwa, amongst others and charge the users of the facility appropriately.

The statement said talks were ongoing with the Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing to re-introduce weight bridges on the highways to checkmate the issue of excessive loading by tankers above the recommended 46, 000ton gross weight.

“The NNPC on its part has already directed all its depots nationwide to stop loading tankers with loading capacity above 40, 000litres,” he said. (NAN)

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