The Oyo State Government has approved the overhauling of electrical infrastructure at the State Secretariat, Government House, Agodi and their environs, awarded at about N710 million.
The State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Seun Ashamu, made the disclosure, on Wednesday, during a press briefing after the weekly State Executive Council meeting.
Ashamu said the current administration considered the overhaul expedient owing to the fact that the existing infrastructure within the axis has spent over three decades and is in dire need of replacement.
He explained that the project, which is expected to last for six months, would see the replacement of transformers for those of 200KVA, 500KVA capacity, laying of 10mm underground cables spanning 14 kilometres, replacement of cables and various electrical facilities, among others.
Ashamu said the electrical infrastructure in the designated areas, to be upgraded to a world-class standard, would give a new face to the state government and its infrastructure and, more importantly, key into the vision of the Governor to have an Independent Power Project, which would enable the state to derive maximum benefit from the project.
He stated: “In essence, what we are going to be doing is that we will have about 14 kilometres of cabling; armored and unarmored, which is going to be underground and we will replace all of the transformers as well. The timeline within which the project is expected to be delivered is in the next 6 months, definitely before mid-2022 and the total cost is set at N710 million.”
Furthermore, the state Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Professor Dahud Shangodoyin, disclosed that the State Executive Council had also approved the sum of N1.5 billion for additional scope of work on the 34.85km Iseyin-Fashola-Oyo Road.
He explained that the state had initially awarded the road project in July for N8.4 billion, following state specifications, but upon a meeting between Governor Seyi Makinde and the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, the state was admonished to make the project conform with the Federal Government’s specifications.
He said: “What we did is to increase the width of the road which was 10.75m, to 12.75m, which is the Federal Government specification. Also, some other items like stone base and the binder’s cost and some other things that we have to put in place to make it conform with the Federal Government specifications have been added.”
Sangodoyin maintained that the road is strategic to the economy of the state, as it is connected to the Fashola Agribusiness Industrial Hub being put together by the state government, saying that the state’s focus is on facilitating ease of movement of agricultural produce and adding value to agribusiness so that the economy of the state could be stimulated.
“The additional scope to the job is about N1.5 billion and it is added to the initial cost of the project that was awarded in July, which is N8.4 billion; and so, now, the total cost of the entire road is N9.9 billion. The road is to be completed within a period of 12 months and it will be funded through the Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA). The implication is that after a while that the project must have been achieved, the government continues to pay on a monthly basis for 17 months.”
Present at the briefing was the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun and the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde, Mr Taiwo Adisa.
PIAK
