Government Highway Development Management Initiative seeks Credible Concessionaries

The bidding process for the concession of some of the federal highways under the Nigerian Government Highway Development Management Initiative which has been opened in Abuja, seeks to ensure that only credible concessionaries emerged at the end of the exercise.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola at the opening ceremony said the bidding process requesting for proposal is in the Value-added Concession of 12 viable road corridors in the country.

Fashola said 18 companies earlier applied for the bidding; however, 16 came out successfully.

According to him, the present administration had only N18 billion available to fund road infrastructure across the country when it took over in 2015.

 “The government had raised SUKUK from 2017 to 2021 to spend on 76 roads. We initiated taxes projects scheme which has brought NNPC, Dangote and others to contribute to constructing our roads infrastructure.

‘’We have also innovated and recovered some of our common wealth taken overseas. President Buhari has recovered some of these money and put into presidential infrastructure development fund and that has also expanded the access to roads infrastructure.

“We are now at a very important type of PPP highways access concession where 12 roads I believe are under construction and 17 or 18 are shortlisted entities.’’

The Minister also called on the procurement unit to ensure that due diligence was observed to enable all companies to be properly certified so that there would not be any delay in the process.

Nneka Ukachukwu