He said that the 614km project would be delivered by July next year.

The AKK pipeline is a 614km-long pipeline being developed by the NNPCL to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to central Nigeria.

 “Although investors were willing to invest in the project, however, they wanted an investment that would yield returns immediately,” Ekpo said, adding that insecurity was also one of the reasons for the project delay.

She advised that apart from addressing financing and security challenges in the country, the Federal Government needed to stabilise the Naira.

The minister also stressed the need for the government to reduce contract circle, and attract modern technology managers into the sector to drive investments.