Afreximbank to raise $1bn of Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation cost ― Kyari

The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, against the backdrop of reactions trailing the Federal Government’s plans to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt refinery with a total of $1.5billion said African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), will raise $1billion of the total cost.

This was even as he dismissed claims that the total cost for rehabilitation could be used to build a new refinery saying a new refinery would cost the nation between $7bn and $12bn.

Kyari who spoke to journalists in Abuja argued that a credible and capable lender like Afreximbank would never invest such an amount where there would be no value.

He described the recent approval as a worthy undertaking embarked upon after diligent consideration and in strict adherence to industry best standards.

According to him, in terms of outlook and job scoping, the rehabilitation project is different from the routine Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) which was last carried out on the Port Harcourt Refinery 21 years ago.

Kyari explained that, unlike TAM which should normally be executed every two years but neglected for many years, the rehabilitation project would involve comprehensive repairs of the plant with significant replacement of critical equipment and long lead items to ensure the integrity of the plant in the long term.

He noted that having learnt from the failure of previous models, the Corporation would adopt the Operate & Maintain (O&M) Model as a strategy in the execution of the rehabilitation project.

He said this is one of the key requirements by the lender.

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