Uche Usim, Abuja
As the Nigerian economy aches over insufficient power, the Minister of Environment, Mr. Muhammad Mahmud, has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the proposed 1,350 megawatt Independent Power Plant project in Abuja, describing it as one that would help boost electricity supply in parts of the nation.
Mahmud gave the commendation in Abuja during the Panel Review Meeting on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project.
He said the project was critical to the federal government of Nigeria given its numerous potentials to improve the power situation in parts of the country, while assuring his Ministry’s support towards ensuring actualization of the project.
“Let me seize this opportunity to commend the management of Gas and Power Investment Company and by extension, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for this wonderful initiative. Certainly, this project is one of the critical infrastructures that the Federal Government is making judicious efforts to embrace” he said.
The Minister who was represented by Mr Celestine Gomwalk said the Ministry, through the newly constituted EIA Panel, would ensure that only decisions that are of mutual benefits to all stakeholders would be considered, pointing out that the essence of the exercise was to guarantee sustainability of the Power Plant project.
In his presentation, the Abuja Independent Power Plant Project Manager, Engr. Benjamin Adah, stated that part of the objectives of the proposed project was to diversify and monetize NNPC gas revenue stream through power generation.
Adah noted that it was an initiative that would assist in reducing the current gas flare in the country.
He said the project would leverage on the existing huge natural gas resources from the NNPC Upstream and the proposed Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas pipeline to boost the nation’s revenue base and generate employment opportunities for the youth.