Tinubu Performs Groundbreaking For 1350MW Gwagwalada Power Plant
By: Tony Odey
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has performed the groundbreaking for the first phase of 1,350 Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant Project in Gwagwalada, a suburb of Abuja.
The President at the occasion assured Nigerians of his firm determination to remove all administrative bottlenecks hindering electricity generation and transmission in the country with a view to ensuring adequate electricity supply to all homes and businesses in Nigeria.
According to him, the Project which is situated on 54.7 hectares of land, upon completion would infuse into the national grid an average of 10.3million MWh of electricity per year, with a projected revenue earnings of between US$700-800 million within a period of 1-10 years.
He further remarked that the Project, which is taking off early into the lifespan of his Administration is a clear demonstration of the commitment of the present Administration to resolve all energy related challenges.
The President reiterated that under his watch, the country will attract enormous investment into the power sector, which will ultimately deepen domestic gas utilization in the long run.
He, equally, explained that Nigeria can only be great if the country is able to generate sufficient power to meet the energy needs of all Nigerians.
While stressing that his Administration is determined to improve the lives of Nigerians, he urged the Contractor, China Machinery Engineering Company, to work assiduously to ensure that the Project is completed within a specified period of time.
Delivering a welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration(FCTA, Mr. Olusade Adesola, explained that Nigeria has over the years been plagued by sub-optimal power situation, with an average of just 5,000MW power generation, which he described as grossly inadequate to address the development and growth challenges in the country.
The Permanent Secretary said the conceptualization and execution of the Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant Project is a direct fulfilment of Mr. President’s pledge to generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity that will give Nigerians the requisite power to enlighten their lives, homes and dreams.
The Permanent Secretary remarked that the FCT Administration would continue to accord utmost priority to the issues of water treatment plants, sanitation, street lights, public safety and security, amongst others in the Territory.
Adesola, who appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to continue to site more people-oriented projects in the Federal Capital Territory, called on the host community to take ownership of the Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant Project by ensuring that the facility is well protected.
Giving an overview of the Project, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari disclosed that the GIPP Project consist of three power train blocks of 450MW each.
He said that each block is consisting of two General Electric (GE0) GT13E2 gas turbine generators, two heat recovering steam generators (HRSG), one steam turbine electric generator, one direct air-cooling condenser, balance of plant equipment and a black start diesel generator.
According to Kyari, the gas supply to the plant shall be through the Ajaokuta-Kaduna Kano gas pipeline, which is currently at its advanced stages of construction.
