By David Akinmola
China has named Nigeria’s Ogidigben Gas Park, valued at $24.5 billion, as its top beneficiary under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for 2025, underscoring Beijing’s growing strategic interest in Nigeria’s energy and industrial infrastructure.
The designation places the Ogidigben Gas Park, located in Delta State, at the centre of China’s overseas infrastructure financing and industrial cooperation for the year, reflecting its scale, regional importance and potential impact on gas-based industrialisation in West Africa.
According to officials familiar with the development, the project is expected to play a critical role in Nigeria’s drive to monetise its vast natural gas reserves, deepen value addition and support industrial growth through gas-based manufacturing, petrochemicals and export-oriented processing. The gas park is designed to serve as a hub for multiple downstream industries, leveraging proximity to gas supply sources and export routes.
The recognition under the BRI framework is also expected to unlock enhanced access to Chinese financing, technical expertise and engineering capacity, while strengthening bilateral economic ties between Nigeria and China. Analysts note that China’s prioritisation of the Ogidigben Gas Park aligns with its broader strategy of supporting large-scale energy and industrial projects that can stimulate regional trade and economic integration.
For Nigeria, the development comes at a time when government is seeking to reposition gas as a transition fuel, drive industrialisation and reduce reliance on crude oil exports. The Ogidigben project has been identified as a flagship initiative capable of attracting significant foreign direct investment, creating jobs and expanding export earnings over the medium to long term.
Industry experts say the project’s elevation within the BRI could accelerate timelines for infrastructure development, including gas processing facilities, power generation, logistics and ancillary services, while improving investor confidence in Nigeria’s gas value chain.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, supports infrastructure and industrial projects across Asia, Africa and Europe through a combination of financing, construction and technical partnerships. Nigeria has been a key African participant in the initiative, with cooperation spanning transportation, power and industrial infrastructure.
While implementation timelines and financing structures are still being finalised, stakeholders view the BRI designation as a significant endorsement of the Ogidigben Gas Park’s strategic and economic importance, with the potential to reposition Nigeria as a major gas-based industrial hub in the region.
Further details are expected to emerge as project partners and government agencies outline next steps for execution and financing under the BRI framework.
