The Federal government of Nigeria has approved US $302m for road projects in the country. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola confirmed the reports during a briefing on the outcome of the Council meeting held at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa.
The Minister explained that US $220m will be used on the Ibadan-Ilesha–Ife dual carriageway project which upon completion, will connect Oyo and Osun states. The remaining US $82m will be spent on phase two of the Kano–Katsina dual carriageway, starting from Gidan Mutun Daya to Katsina Rolling Mill, Katsina State.
Road projects
The Kano–Katsina road was a single length highway until it was awarded in 2013 by the previous administration in phase one and expanded into a dual carriageway. US $553m was also approved for construction of link-roads, connecting the second Niger Bridge to Asaba and Onitsha.
“This completes essentially the access road that will link the bridge in the short time. These roads were under-designed when the bridge was awarded. Our administration completed the design and we have now awarded them. The roads were initially awarded under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the bridge in 2010 administration,” said Babatunde.
“What we have now done is to complete the award to the same contractor, so that there is a uniformity of construction,’’ he added.
The African country of Nigeria has a 120,546-mile network of roads, the quality of which is generally poor. The roads are crumbling because they are poorly maintained. Heavy travel on major roads accelerates the wear, vehicle accidents are very common, and the fatality rate is high.