So far, the construction of the Second Niger Bridge has gulped N157 billion according to the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
The minister describing the project being undertaken by Julius Berger as very significant for the federal government, stated that it is one of the legacy projects that Is given same priority with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway.
“Today, we have been able to fund this project with N157billion and I’m here to see where all this money has gone into”, Ahmed spoke at Onitsha during the inspection of the projection.
The project that started September 1, 2018 and expected to be completed in 2022 at a cost of ₦336 Billion is designed to uplift the lives and livelihood of the people of the South-East and other parts of the country, and it is hoped that it will ease traffic, enhance commercial activities and improve the lives of the people when it is put into use.
The inspection by the minister and Uche Orji, the Managing Director of NSIA coincided with the day that the two ends of the bridge were being put together, signifying the final phase of the construction work.
“So technically, I can report to Mr President that I have seen where all the N157billion has gone to.
Ahmed said: “Government attached so much importance to the Second Niger Bridge project because of the huge developmental impact which the project would have on the lives of Nigerians”.
“Today is a very significant day in the construction cycle of the second Niger bridge. And this is one of the most iconic projects in the country and its costing the federal government over N250billion.”
The Minister expressed satisfaction on the pace and quality of the job done by both the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Julius Berger.
She said that through the project, the federal government has been able to create about 20,000 jobs at the construction site.
“And also, I am happy to see the ladies I am seeing at the construction site, not all men. Julius Berger has brought some very unique innovations in the construction of this project and I want to, on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, applaud the skills of the construction workers that have been working on this project.”
Orji, he Managing Director of NSIA, said that the second Niger bridge is one of the three projects being funded from the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). The other two projects are the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, and the Lagos-Ibadan express road projects.
The PIDF is a special fund set up by President Buhari and managed by the NSIA. The Authority brought some of its own capital and the capital provided by the federal government and the capital from returned loot from late Sani Abacha.
Comments are closed.