The Nigerian Ministry of Works has established a committee to oversee the implementation of a Cashless Tolling System for the Abuja-Keffi Expressway.
Minister of Works, David Umahi disclosed this while inaugurating a committee for the project, as well as the dualization of the Keffi-Akwanga-Makurdi Road.
Umahi said the cashless Tolling system was part of the Highway Development and Management Initiative.
He explained that the Tolling system was part of the agreement for the project aimed at recouping money from the government to pay back the load for the road project.
“This is one of the cardinal strategies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards realizing the desires of our people in the road sector development.
“Recall that a point of Keffi-Akwanga-Markurdi was done on EPC + F, and funded up to 85% by China Exim Bank, and the Federal Government paid 15% counterpart funding and the job was executed satisfactorily by China Harbour Ltd.
“Part of the agreement is that they will toll the road and then recoup the money for the Federal Government to pay back the loan segment of the project” Umahi explained.
The Minister while laying out the terms of reference to the committee said the plan among other things would propel rapid economic development.
“The Terms Of Reference which among other things are to develop the cashless tolling system implementation framework, make an appropriate recommendation as to the potentials of relief stations and good physical environment along the corridors and proffer practical solutions to the challenges of implementing cashless toll collection in the Nigerian environment.
“We must also, as part of the assignment, develop relief stations. Relief stations are what you see in overseas’ expressways, where you have a lot of stations where you have a supermarket, you have a small clinic, you have also security outfits, and several other facilities, including parks, wheel lorries, and vehicles park, and tow vans.
“The idea of Mr President is that we should have a maximum of 10 minutes of response time on our highways, meaning that in the full development of this route, part of the assignment will be how we can install CCTV cameras, and also have solar light all through the entire route of the project.
“And so, we will be able to put security on our roads, and then we have a station at the relief centre, where they will stay and watch the vehicles so that within 10 minutes of any incident along the route, the security people will be able to be there – within 10 minutes response time. This is the idea of Mr. President and for our major highways,” Umahi said.
The Chairman of the committee noted that the scope of the assignment was arduous, and assured the Ministry of the committee’s profound commitment to execute the assignment diligently.
The committee is composed of members selected from the Federal Ministries of Works, Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Justice, as well as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). The committee is chaired by Jummai Katagum, the Head of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) at the Federal Ministry of Finance, with Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya, the Head of the PPP Unit at the Federal Ministry of Works, serving as the Secretary.
Lantana Nasir
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