The NIPCO Gas Limited has signed an agreement with the NNPC Gas Marketing Limited (NGML) and Lekki Free Zone Development Company (LFZDC) to facilitate gas infrastructure development in the country.
The gas pipeline, to be completed in the next six months, will supply gas to the Lekki Free Zone and feed a 24 Mega Watts (MW) power plant on that axis.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Lagos, the Managing Director, NIPCO Gas, Nagendra Verma, said that the pact would aid the smooth distribution of gas to the Lekki area of Lagos State.
“Our intention is to supply gas, which is economical, cheaper, and environmentally friendly. It will also enhance the efficiency of equipment and ultimately boost the economy of this country. We are developing gas infrastructure to meet the power requirement of the industries,” he said.
Verma further said: “This business engagement is certainly going to attract more and more industries to set up their facilities within LFZDC, which will not only support the consortium but also help in the development of the free zone area in an exponential manner. This is also going to boost the industrialisation and employment opportunities in the Lekki area, which in turn will boost the economy of the country.
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“We believe that the development of collaboration between NGML-NIPCO & LFZDC shall attract industries, as the free zone has many advantages like proximity to the sea-port, export promotion zone, improve road connectivity-hence better logistics for movement of raw materials and finished products.
“Being a prestigious government project, we feel really happy to be associated with this project and would really like to thank NNPC Gas Marketing Limited for making NIPCO Gas their preferred partner and a great thank to LFZDC for partnering with the NGML-NIPCO Consortium,” he said.
The Managing Director, NGML, Justin Ezeala, said: “Our partner (NIPCO) is a reliable firm and an industry leader in pipeline laying. We have worked with them for years and we discovered that, among our partners, they are the most consistent in the market. We appreciate the LFZDC for its confidence in us and we will monitor the process to ensure a fruitful project.
The Managing Director, LFZDC, Dai Shunfa, said: “We have been crying for gas all these years. We negotiate the agreement with NIPCO and NGML and it has become a reality today. I believe this is a win-win situation for the parties. This will be a key facility for us. It means we have to bring more end users for the NGML consortium, expressing hope that the laying of the pipeline will be facilitated,”
“We have our power plant now, which is 24MW, we are using CNG and LNG, which is not sufficient for us. What we need is a pipeline gas and that was why we engaged this consortium to connect the gas to Lekki Free Zone, not only to connect the power plant. With this infrastructure, we can attract more investors who will use the gas,”
The consortium said some equipment has already been procured for the project and would be moved to the site, immediately after the signing ceremony.
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