Mercado Noticias

Construction has started on a major natural gas-fired power plant in Nigeria, which aims to improve the country’s electricity supply amid frequent power shortages. The Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, with a capacity of 1,350 MW, will burn domestically sourced gas and is expected to provide around 11% of Nigeria’s electricity once fully operational.

Located near the capital city of Abuja, the plant will be built in three phases, with GE Vernova among the three groups leading the engineering and construction of the facility. The first phase of construction commenced on August 4, representing the first major energy project developed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Nigeria, with the largest economy and population in Africa, is one of many countries on the continent grappling with inadequate power generation capacity and an unreliable power grid. The Gwagwalada plant is part of Nigeria’s efforts to monetize its abundant gas resources, as the country possesses the largest reserves of natural gas in Africa and is a significant exporter of liquefied natural gas.

The first phase of the Gwagwalada plant, built by GE Vernova and China Mechanical Engineering Corp. in partnership with the state oil firm NNPC, is expected to be completed by next year. The project is seen as a significant step forward for President Tinubu’s administration, which aims to prioritize the development of a robust energy sector to boost Nigeria’s economy.

NNPC has revealed that the Gwagwalada plant is just one of three projects planned along a 384-mile natural gas pipeline corridor. Collectively, these three plants would add approximately 3.6 GW of power generation capacity to Nigeria’s grid.

By investing in natural gas power plants and expanding its power generation capacity, Nigeria is taking strides towards addressing its electricity supply issues and reducing reliance on generators for electricity production.