The Edo State government, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Sahara Group have joined forces to drive the construction of the 17km stretch Ikpako-Ajoki road in Edo State to facilitate trade and sustainable development.
The project is the brainchild of the joint venture (JV) between the NNPC and Enageed Resource Limited, a Sahara Group upstream company, in collaboration with the Edo State government. The project is scheduled to be completed within 18 to 24 months.
NNPC/Sahara JVs have been instrumental to the delivery of various projects in health, education, environment, and capacity building across the nation and Africa. In 2017, the NNPC and Sahara Group unveiled two ultramodern Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels, Africa Gas and Sahara Gas to bolster LPG security in Nigeria and the continent. Both vessels continue to enhance access to clean energy, with Sahara Group targeting further $1 billion investment in LPG infrastructure.
Governor Gowdin Obaseki, speaking at the project’s flag-off ceremony, said the road that would , among others, boost trade, agricultural activities and facilitate oil and gas operations for the benefit of the state and the nation.
“What we are witnessing here today is an endorsement of collaboration as a viable means of promoting national development. The successes realised from working with Sahara on various ventures reinforce the efforts of the Federal Government aimed at transforming the economy through credible and innovative partnerships.
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“We commend the Edo State government for playing a strategic role in this collaboration and we believe that the best is yet to come,” Mele Kyari, the NNPC GMD, said on behalf of the Corporation.
Also speaking, Temitope Shonubi, executive director, Sahara Group, noted the Group’s delight to join forces with the NNPC, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and the Edo government to deliver the road expected to enhance tourism, trade, and support the movement of people, goods and services to and from the communities.
Shonubi assured the residents of Ikpako and Ajoki communities as well as the state that the project was being handled by a first-rate construction firm and supervised by a professional consulting firm that will provide an additional layer of quality control to cover all the phases of the construction, extending to post-construction.
“Like the all-important arteries in the human body, the Okpako-Ajoki road is set to open a mine of opportunities that will connect almost one million residents in the region to new horizons and shared prosperity. In line with our commitment to bringing energy to life responsibly, Sahara Group and it’s partner NNPC is eagerly awaiting the huge volumes of trade, commerce and accompanying sustainable value generation the road will bring to the communities, Edo State, and the nation,” he said.
According to Shonubi, Sahara continues to provide a major role in power generation and distribution across Nigeria and in a bid to boost power supply in Ajoki launched the rural electrification project, an initiative focused on supplying electricity to the community through the conversion of flared gas from the flow station into power using gas-powered generators with future collaboration with the Benin Distribution Company for the excess power.
This is in addition to a reduction in the amount of gas flared in the environment, which supports all our Energy transition initiatives, he said, saying a new source of clean energy will be provided, directly powering tens of thousands of beneficiaries, including businesses, hospitals, schools, and households in the Ajoki community.
“Sahara Group continues to leverage its robust stakeholder relations and collaboration to positively impact communities where we operate and help create ecosystems that support shared prosperity through sustainable interventions.
“It is in our DNA to embark on the road less travelled in our quest for being an integral part of the machinery that weaves prosperity into the communities we operate. We are committed to going the extra mile for our host communities, responsibly and sustainably.
“Roads take us to our destinations but create the memorable journey which we are all here today to facilitate responsibly,” he said.
