The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project is on the right track, in accordance with the vision of the two Heads of State, said Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas on Thursday.
Speaking at a press briefing held after Council of Government’s weekly meeting, Baitas noted that the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project is part of a strategic partnership between the two countries, in accordance with the vision outlined by HM King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
The studies carried out or those currently underway include the engineering of the project, said the Minister, adding that the new studies concern environmental and social issues.
It should be recalled that Morocco and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) have recently signed the legal documentation for the financing of part of the second phase of detailed design studies of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, which aims to become a catalyst for economic development in the region of North West Africa.
“Economy and Finance Minister Nadia Fettah held talks with OPEC Director General Abdulhamid Al Khalifa and ONHYM [National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines] Director General Amina Benkhadra,” said the Ministry of Economy and Finance in a statement.
During these talks, the parties “signed the legal documentation relating to the 14.3-million-dollar financing granted by OPED Fund to ONHYM as its contribution to the financing of the second phase of the detailed design study (FEED – Front-End engineering design) of the gas pipeline linking the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco (NMGP Project),” the statement added.
The study, co-financed with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), consists in preparing the documentation for the implementation of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project and finalizing the related technical, financial and legal analyses.
The strategic Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, initiated by HM King Mohammed VI and President Buhari, and for which the cooperation agreement was signed in May 2017, has the ambition to be a catalyst for the economic development of the North-West African region.
