President Bola Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has described the newly flagged-off $100 million South-East gas pipeline project as a strategic investment designed to strengthen manufacturing, overcome energy bottlenecks, and unlock economic opportunities across the five southeastern states.
Speaking through the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, during the investment signing ceremony on Tuesday in Enugu, President Tinubu emphasised that regional prosperity relies on cross-border infrastructure rather than isolated state markets.
“The Southeast’s entrepreneurial spirit is one of Nigeria’s greatest economic assets. I have always believed that the prosperity of the Southeast is inseparable from the prosperity of Nigeria. Gas infrastructure must therefore serve industries and markets, not stop at political boundaries,” President Bola Tinubu said.
The project, spearheaded by private sector developer GasSync in collaboration with public institutions, aims to create the energy baseline needed to expand existing factories and attract brand-new industrial investments.
Key Highlights of the $100M Pipeline Project
Total Pipeline Length 400 kilometers
Estimated Initial Capital $100 million
Coverage Area Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States
Origin Point Ohaji gas hub (Imo State)
SEDC Initial Commitment $3 million (targeting up to $30m total regional participation)
Prospective Offtakers -150 industrial, power generation, and agro-processing clients
The 400 km pipeline system is designed to directly link rich natural gas deposits in Imo State to primary commercial nodes, reducing the regional reliance on expensive road-transported Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Targeted Economic Impacts by State:
Abia State: Direct gas supply to key manufacturers in Aba and major energy off-takers like Geometric Power.
Anambra State: Reinforcement of industrial zones and commercial manufacturing clusters in Nnewi and Onitsha.
Enugu State: Revowal of stalled enterprise investments and energy supply to emerging industrial parks.
Ebonyi State: Powering expanding agro-processing ventures and reviving dormant manufacturing plants.
Imo State: Monetization and distribution of natural gas resources, particularly from the Assa North–Ohaji South reserves.
To address concerns regarding potential delivery delays for states situated further along the network, project promoter GasSync confirmed an accelerated construction timeline.
Callistus Mba, representing GasSync, announced that construction crews will deploy simultaneously at two distinct starting hubs:
Section A: Originating at Ohaji (Imo State) pushing toward Owerri and Aba.
Section B: Launching concurrently at Onitsha (Anambra State) expanding toward Enugu and Ebonyi.
Governors and representatives across the five southeastern states welcomed the infrastructure commitment, linking it to the newly created South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and the South-East Vision 2050 development roadmap.
Governor Peter Mbah (Enugu): Commended President Tinubu for establishing the SEDC, noting that the pipeline project transitioned from a public proposal to an executed agreement in less than 13 months due to innovative public-private financing models.
Lady Chinyere Ekomaru (Deputy Governor, Imo): Highlighted Imo’s gas supply capacity and noted the project’s alignment with off-takers from the Assa North–Ohaji South development.
Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim (Deputy Governor, Anambra): Stressed that community cooperation along pipeline corridors will be vital to ensuring rapid, impactful completion.
Mrs. Patricia Obila (Deputy Governor, Ebonyi): Expressed readiness to guarantee local cooperation to ensure power deficits no longer force local factories into dormancy.
SEDC Managing Director Mark Okoye reaffirmed that the commission’s $3 million baseline commitment followed rigorous technical, legal, and financial due diligence, laying the groundwork to mobilise up to $30 million in combined regional public and private capital. (NAN)
