Zulum joins Tinubu at groundbreaking of 1,350 megawatts power plant in Gwagwalada  

… Tinubu commends Zulum’s performance in Borno 

By: Michael Mike

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday laid foundation stone for the establishment of 1,350 megawatts Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant (GIPP) Project sited in Gwagwalada area council of the FCT. 

The project is being carried out through a partnership between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited, China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and General Electric (GE).  

The event had in attendance Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum who was there in honour of Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of  NNPC, Ltd. Mele Kyari hails from Borno State. 

Also at the event were Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who represented the speaker, Deputy Governor of Nassarawa State who represented his Governor, the chinese ambassador to Nigeria and stakeholders from ministries of power, and petroleum and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. There were traditional rulers of Gwagwalada and Zuba amongst other stakeholders. 

President Tinubu in his remarks which has already been copiously reported by the presidency’s media team, also took time to praise Governor Zulum. 

Tinubu said he was happy that the Borno Governor attended the groundbreaking as his presence meant representation of a tier of Government. 

The President also commended Zulum’s performance since becoming Governor of Borno State. 

Before the president’s speech, permanent secretary of the FCT, Mr Olusade Adesola gave a welcoming address. 

Group CEO of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari gave overview of the Gwagwalada Independent Power Project including scope and overall objectives. 

Permanent secretary, ministry of petroleum, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda delivered the vote of thanks. 

The Gwagwalada Independent Power Project, “was necessitated by the need for delivering gas towards additional power generation capacity in Nigeria. Gas supply to the Plant shall be through the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline which is currently at its advanced stages of construction. The GIPP’s fuel requirements will be satisfied under a long-term Gas Sales, Purchase and Aggregation Agreement with Shell Petroleum Development Company Joint Venture (SPDCJV).”

“The GIPP project consists up of three power train blocks of 450MW each. Each block will include two General Electric (GE) GT132 gas turbine generators, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), one steam turbine electric generator, one direct air-cooling condenser, balance of plant equipment and a black start diesel generator.”

“On completion, the GIPP Project will generate an average of 10.3 million Megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity per year for sale to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PIc (NBET). The sales of the generated power will be through Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the NBET to distribution companies (Discos) under long-term agreements, and direct sale to major off-takers.”

“China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) will construct the project under a turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) contract. The GIPP Project will be operated by an experienced company with proven track record under an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract. GE will be engaged for the Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA) that will include ongoing guarantees of availability, heat rate, and output.”

“Projected gross revenues within the first ten years is expected to be around USD 700-800 million per year.”

Zulum joins Tinubu at groundbreaking of 1,350 megawatts power plant in Gwagwalada