Nigeria’s Cabinet has approved N1.5 trillion for major road projects, totalling over 700 kilometres, linking 11 States in the country.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this on Wednesday, said the money would be spent on the projects by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and would soon be completed.
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He listed the benefiting States to include Edo, Delta, Kano, Kaduna, Borno and Adamawa among others.
“The Council gave approval for the construction and rehabilitation of 11 roads totalling 737.242 kilometres in the sum of N1, 535, 154, 247, 234.48 under phase II of the NNPC tax credit scheme.
“Recall that in January this year, the council approved a memo for the NNPC to invest N1.9 trillion on our roads. That amount was then about 44 roads that had been awarded and the balance of those roads that had to go through procurement between then and now are the 11 that have now been approved by the council.”
Benin-Sapele-Warri Road Reconstruction
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the reconstruction of the three sections of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Road under the Federal Government Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit
This is in reaction to the new reconstruction contracts that were approved on Wednesday during the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo
The sections of the road that have been awarded for reconstruction are Section 1 made up of the 28.275 kilometre-long Benin-Imasabor in favour of Messrs Levant Construction Company Limited in the sum of N98,916,451,227.28 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a 24-month completion period; Section II made up of 38.525 kilometre-long Imasabor-Ibada Elume in favour of Messrs GELD Construction Company Limited/Triata Nig. Ltd (JV) in the sum of N127,648,926,047.37 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a 36-month completion period; and Section III made up of 23.2 kilometre-long Ibada Elume-Warri in favour of Messrs SKECC Nigeria Limited in the sum of N89,142,998,919.59 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a 42-month completion period.
Agba explained that these three contracts were new unlike the Benin-Okene Road contracts which had existed for many years, but which funding was approved under the Tax Credit Programme in January, this year, by the president at a FEC meeting.
He, however, noted that the contractors handling the Benin-Okene Road had yet to mobilise to sites due to an inflationary trend that had affected the original costs of the project, and had requested for augmentation of the rates adding that “This is now undergoing augmentation by the Ministry of Works.”
PIAK
