President Tinubu has officially turned the first sod for the 350MW first phase of the 1.35GW gas-fired Gwagwalada independent power plant project (GIPP) in Abuja. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) will construct the project’s first phase alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with GE of the US serving as the original equipment manufacturer. The project’s entire work scope entails the construction of a combined-cycle power plant with auxiliaries in three stages.
Capacity of the Gwagwalada independent power plant
The GIPP would produce an average of 10.3 million megawatt hours (MWh) annually after it is finished. According to the NNPC, the power plant, which would run on indigenous gas, will supply 11% of Nigeria’s energy requirements. According to the Nigerian Presidency’s official Twitter account, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, which is currently under construction and 70% complete, would provide the gas.
Additionally, two other IPPs will profit from the AKK pipeline in addition to the GIPP. Together, the GIPP, the Kaduna IPP (900MW) and the Kano IPP (1,350MW) will contribute 3,600MW to the national grid. Mele Kyari, CEO of NNPC, stated at the GIPP signing that the Kaduna and Kano IPPs are “work in progress”
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Cost of the GIPP
The Gwagwalada independent power plant project is anticipated to have a total project cost of US$1.7 billion. While the Kaduna IPP US$1.3 billion, and the Kano IPP US$1.9 billion.
Additionally, NNPC CEO Mele Kyari stressed Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources in his statement at the GIPP signing. With known gas reserves exceeding 209 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and prospective reserves exceeding 600 tcf. The GIPP, he continued, is a chance to profit from these natural gas resources.
He said, “By adding 5GW [to the national grid] by 2024, the GIPP project will significantly advance the NNPC’s gas and electricity mandate.”
