The federal government has approved the disbursement of $2.5 billion contract fund required for the execution of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline.
Minister of finance, budget and national planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed disclosed this during an inspection tour of the project yesterday.
She said that funding would not be a hindrance as the government is committed to ensuring its completion in record time.
Ahmed said government had met its funding obligations on the project. According to her, “We have to give a sovereign guarantee to the lender so that the loan is concluded. I am glad to say the loan has been concluded. And very soon the disbursement will start to the contractor. For now it is $2.5billion. We are glad that gas is being piped across the country.”
She stressed further that the development would help to revive industries across the country.
The minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, in his own speech, described the pipeline project as the most significant industrialisation initiative embarked upon by the federal government in recent years.
According to him, the AKK project is the backbone of the nation’s economic development, adding that Nigerians are eagerly awaiting for its completion.
Meanwhile, the group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far on the contract as Oilserv says over 10 per cent of the project has already been completed.
The project which was flagged off by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier this year is being executed in part by Oilserv, an indigenous pipeline and engineering firm.
Chairman of Oilserv, Emeka Okwuosa said over 10 per cent of the project has been completed as the first phase of the pipeline spanning over 13 kilometers have been laid.
According to him nearly 100 per cent of the people working on the project as well as other materials were sourced locally, stressing that the implementations of the project exceeds extant local content threshold.
“Over here we employ locals as we move to the community and empower them as sub-contractors and is a testimony to the development of local content,” he said.
While most Chinese funded projects are usually executed by foreign firms from China, Okwuosa said he has deployed the most sophisticated technology as a representation of local capacity.
“The things we have to buy overseas of course are things we cannot manufacture here. We are abiding by it, the materials and vehicles are from here. Most of our vehicles are from Innoson. So clearly local content is exemplified.
“For the line pipes base on the fact that the loans are obtained from China the line pipes have to be from China apart from that every other thing comes from Nigeria,” Okwuosa stated.
On his part, the vice chairman, Brentex-CPP, Sani Abubakar said his company will ensure the establishment of three pipeline academy at the end of the 24 months projected for the execution of the AKK pipeline.