The groundbreaking ceremony for the Abuja Independent Power Plant Project, which is being constructed by China Machiner

Abuja, August 4th, People's Daily Online (Reporter Jiang Xuan) - The groundbreaking ceremony for the Abuja Independent Power Plant Project, which is being constructed by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), was held in the Gugwaraada area of Abuja on August 4th. Nigerian President Tunku, the permanent secretary of the Abuja Capital District, and other government officials, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun, the general manager of CMEC, and representatives from various sectors, totaling 1,000 people, attended the ceremony.
Tunku stated that eliminating the bottleneck in power distribution was one of his campaign promises. The Abuja Independent Power Plant is one of the key infrastructure projects supported by the federal government, not only related to industrial economic development but also benefiting the people of Nigeria.
Tunku expressed great expectations for the project. The contract signing was completed on the 3rd, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 4th. As the first major project launch ceremony attended by the president after taking office, Tunku said that the government's early initiation of this project demonstrated "our determination to bring positive changes to the Nigerian people. We believe that Chinese contractors are capable of completing the project on time, with quality and in full compliance with the contract terms."
Nigerian President Tunku laid the foundation stone for the project. Photo by Jiang Xuan, People's Daily Online.
The Abuja Independent Power Plant is one of the terminal supporting projects for the Akk-Jaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) natural gas pipeline project in Nigeria, which holds strategic significance for the country. It adopts the EPC contract model. The owner is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and CMEC is responsible for engineering design, procurement, and construction. General Electric is the original equipment manufacturer. The total design installed capacity of the project is 1,600 megawatts. The current project is the first phase, with a planned installed capacity of 350 megawatts, and the construction period is 36 months.
Fang Yanshui said that the project will greatly alleviate the severe power shortage in the central and northern regions of Nigeria. It will provide more than 1,000 jobs for the local area and is expected to generate $800 million in annual revenue.
According to the chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Kiarie, Nigeria has over 209 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and potential reserves exceeding 600 trillion cubic feet. By 2024, the use of natural gas for power generation will increase the national power generation capacity by 5 gigawatts. Kiarie said that China has advanced technologies and rich experience in the power sector and is willing to continue strengthening cooperation with the Chinese side in the power sector, exploring more cooperation opportunities, and injecting new impetus into bilateral cooperation.
At the signing ceremony the previous day, Cui Jianchun said that China is willing to work with the Nigerian side to jointly strive for high-quality cooperation projects, leverage the advantages of all parties, and promote the implementation of the 5GIST Growth and Development Progress Strategy between China and Nigeria, helping Nigeria improve its power supply situation and allowing more benefits of development to reach the people of both countries.