By Temitope Mustapha, Abuja
The federal government has approved N1.24 trillion allocation for various road projects nationwide to enhance infrastructure, improve connectivity, and boost economic growth.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the Monday federal executive council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
Key approvals include:
- N80 billion additional funding for the Bodo-Bonny Road in Rivers State, bringing the total project cost to N280 billion.
- N740 billion for the rehabilitation of an 82-kilometer stretch of the Abuja-Kano Road, to be executed by Julius Berger.
- Approval for the construction of a 258-kilometer three-lane carriageway, part of the 1000 Sokoto-Badagry Super-highway in Kebbi State.
- Rehabilitation of the Maraban-Kankara/Funtua Road in Katsina State.
- Dualization of the Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe road in Ebonyi, Abia, and Imo states.
The minister also highlighted the completion of emergency works on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, which now includes advanced security features such as CCTV cameras and an observation room to enhance safety and response times.
Additionally, Umahi said 14 road and bridge projects affected by floods were approved for construction or rehabilitation across various states, including Ekiti, Adamawa, Kebbi, Cross River, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, and Rivers.
Also Read: Road Construction: Federal Executive Council approves N1 trillion
“We have 14 road projects and bridges that were approved for construction, they were badly affected by floods and some of the bridges were being threatened. We have Ado-Ekiti/Afe Babalola in Ekiti state.
“We have the JB Lamba Road in Adamawa state. We have Kuku-Besse-Zaria-Kata Road in Kebbi State. We have construction of Ngutuk to Demeshi Road. We have the Amasiroposi/Uburishagu to Enugu State.
“We have Awo-Iwe-Ata 20.3 kilometer Phase 1. We have Ebom Road in Cross River State. We have the Ilesha-Oke-Igbo, Ondo State, Phase 1, we have Ilesha-Oke-Igbo, Ondo State, Section 1. We have the construction … Atakumosa East, Osun State.
“We have Lafia/Shendam Road in Plateau State, we have a section of Abakaliki/Afikpo Road Section 1, we have dualization of Bodoken/Kitti/Koroma Road in River State, and we have the dualization of Afikpo/Uturu/Okigwe Road in Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states.
“These 14 roads were awarded and then you have a contract for the repair and rehabilitation of Gamboru Bridge along Gambor-Ngala/Kala-Balge Road in Bornu State.
“We have approval of two contracts of roads. One is the Cross River to … road, and the other one is Kabba in Kogi State, down to Ado-Ekiti Road in favour of CCECC. We have the Abuja/Kano Road, 82 kilometre dualized, it’s a project of Julius Berger that has been ongoing and we inherited from past administration about 62 kilometres was completed for a total sum of N393 billion and paid.”
Also Read: Road Projects: President Tinubu orders release of funds
Umahi emphasised the government’s shift towards using continuous reinforced concrete pavement for some projects, citing durability concerns.
He also mentioned the approval for constructing a service lane at the Lekki Deep Seaport to alleviate traffic congestion.
Tolled truck park
The FEC meeting also addressed the issue of fuel trucks damaging newly constructed roads.
In response, the government approved a plan to concession federal land for the construction of a tolled truck park, similar to the solution implemented in Apapa.
“we discovered from my inspection yesterday that we have over 3000 of fuel trucks that were queuing for the Dangote fuel lifting and they were all parked on the newly constructed road.
“Technically and by design, the roads were never built for static loads, and so it has a lot of effects and so we’re going to have the same thing we have in Apapa that damaged the tarred road until it was constructed on concrete.
“So what FEC approved today is that the federal government land that we have we should put it for concessioning so that concessioners could bid and whoever that wins it will be able to build a park.
“It’s a park that will be tolled so that all the trucks can safely park over there and the pavement of such a park is quite different from the pavement of the road.“
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