The governments of Nigeria and Morroco have pledged to continue to pursue the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline and fertilizer plant in Nigeria.
Morrocan media reports stated that the King of Morocco, King Mohammed VI, held a telephone conversation with President Muhammadu Buhari where the bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed.
The gas pipeline project was first announced on the sidelines of King Mohammed VI’s visit to Nigeria in 2016 and in 2017, Morocco’s National Office for Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) signed an agreement on the project.
This gas pipeline, which is estimated to cost $25 billion will connect 11 West African countries, including Morocco and Spain.
The project will be carried out in stages and slated for completion in 25 years.
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The two countries had also contracted Penspen Engineering Company to carry out the first phase of front-end engineering and design and by March last year, the front-end engineering and design had entered the second phase.
It was gathered that the two African leaders also discussed the construction of a fertilizer plant in Nigeria, which will be a subsidiary of Morocco’s phosphate company, OCP.
As part of the deal, Morocco will supply the Nigerian plant with phosphoric acid to produce fertilizers for the benefit of local farmers while the factory will supply Morocco with ammonia.
The $1.3 billion fertiliser plant situated in South East Nigeria, is expected to become operational in late 2023.