Nigerian govt begins $100m South-east gas pipeline project

The Nigerian government has kicked off a $100 million gas distribution pipeline project to boost industrialisation, attract investment, and create jobs in the South-east.

The 400-kilometre pipeline was designed to connect gas resources to industrial and commercial centres across Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states.

The pipeline has about 150 potential customers identified, with projected demand of 254 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

President Bola Tinubu announced this on Tuesday shortly after the investment agreement for the project was signed at the South-East Gas Infrastructure Investment and Project Development Ceremony held at Hotel Presidential, Enugu.

Mr Tinubu, represented by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, said the project was being implemented through the South-east Development Commission (SEDC).

He described the project as a “strategic investment” that would connect the South-east’s natural gas resources to industries, strengthen manufacturing and unlock economic opportunities across the five states in the region.

“The South-east’s entrepreneurial spirit is one of Nigeria’s greatest economic assets. I have always believed that the prosperity of the South-east is inseparable from the prosperity of Nigeria,” Mr Tinubu said.

The president added that the project aligned with his administration’s commitment to building an integrated regional economy, stressing that gas infrastructure should support industrial development across state boundaries rather than serve isolated markets.

“That is the economic logic of regional integration,” he said.

He said the pipeline would benefit manufacturers in Aba, strengthen industrial clusters in Nnewi and Onitsha, attract productive enterprises to Enugu, expand agro-processing and manufacturing in Ebonyi and connect Imo’s gas resources to the wider regional economy.

Mr Tinubu, however, said the ambition extended beyond supplying existing factories to creating the conditions for new industries.

“It was issued to make possible factories that do not yet exist, industrial parks yet to be developed, and investments that have remained on the drawing board because reliable energy was unavailable,” he said.

He described the SEDC as an institution established to deliver measurable development outcomes, urging it to assess its performance by the investments it mobilised, infrastructure it enabled, opportunities it created and lives it improved.

“This is the model I expect from our development institutions: identify strategic economic opportunities, prepare credible projects, commit public resources responsibly and mobilise private capital at a scale government budgets alone cannot achieve,” he said.

The president praised the SEDC for committing $3 million to the gas project and establishing a framework to mobilise additional investments from state governments, institutions and private investors.

He said the project’s initial phase required approximately $100 million, describing the partnership between public institutions and private investors as essential to developing sustainable infrastructure.

“We are not investing in pipelines for their own sake. We are investing in the industries, businesses and jobs those pipelines will make possible,” the president said.

Mr Tinubu urged the commission and its partners to uphold commercial discipline, transparency, environmental responsibility, community engagement and the highest safety standards throughout the project’s implementation.

He said the ultimate objective was to translate the region’s natural resources into productive economic activity, employment and improved living standards.

“Let the gas beneath our soil power our industries. Let that energy become production. Let production become employment. Let employment become prosperity for our people,” he said.

The president urged the SEDC, state governments and project partners to establish clear implementation timelines, measurable milestones and regular progress reports, stressing that the project’s success would ultimately be measured by its ability to attract investments, revive industries, and create jobs.

Also speaking, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State commended Mr Tinubu for establishing the SEDC, describing the commission as the institutional vehicle needed to realise the South-east’s long-standing industrialisation aspirations.

“Tinubu loves the Igbo. The SEDC is a commission whose time has come.

“It was an idea conceived many decades ago, but it took President Tinubu to establish this long-awaited dream of industrialisation of the South-east,” Mr Mbah said.

He described the signing of the investment agreement as the commencement of the investment process, adding that the initiative would help realise the region’s aspiration for a common market and coordinated industrial development.

The governor said the project would create opportunities for young people to build their futures in the South-east rather than migrate to other parts of the country in search of jobs.

“We, the South-east governors, are committed to this. We will ensure that the right of way and EIA are given accelerated approval,” he said.

The SEDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Okoye, said the commission had conducted technical, financial and legal due diligence before committing funds to the project, which received approval from its governing board.

Mr Okoye said the commission was targeting aggregate regional investment participation of up to $30 million, including its initial $3 million commitment, as part of efforts to mobilise the private capital required to advance the project.

He said the initiative aligned with the commission’s industrialisation programme and its commitment to developing infrastructure that would benefit the entire region.

A representative of GasSync, the project promoter, Callistus Mba, said the pipeline would connect gas resources close to the South-east to industrial users across the five states, reducing dependence on the expensive transportation of compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas by road.

Mr Mba said the proposed network would originate from the Ohaji area of Imo State, run through Owerri and branch towards Aba in Abia State and Onitsha in Anambra State, with extensions to Enugu and Ebonyi.