The Federal Government has assured that the Second Niger Bridge project is on course and would be completed by 2022.

In the breakdown of the project cost which will cost the Federal Government about N414 billion, it said that the bridge alone would cost N206 billion, while ancillary roads linking the bridge would cost about N208 billion.

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This disclosure was made by the Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, during a town hall meeting with stakeholders and host communities of Second Niger Bridge on Friday, November 20, 2020.

The minister also carried out a project update inspection of the main works and associated infrastructure of the Second Niger Bridge project in Anambra and Delta States.

He urged agitating persons in the area to think about the economic benefits of the project to them.

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While pointing out that some grounds on the job had been lost owing to conflicts resulting from compensation, Fashola urged people who are agitating in the area, to think about the economic benefits of the project to them

He reminded the stakeholders and host communities that beyond the bridge and the roads, the materials needed for the construction were big economic empowerment for host communities and people of the two states of Anambra and Delta.

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He said, “Let me speak to what this project will do, what it is doing and what it will be delivering. In order to complete this project, this company will be needing 644 aggregates. The contractors won’t import these; they will be buying them from here.

“They will need four million cubic tonnes of sand; 68,000 tonnes of cement and 21,000 tonnes of re-enforcement. The company will need 19m litres of diesel which will be supplied by contractors as it does not produce diesel while 1400 indigenous workers will be employed to work on the bridge.”

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He noted that from the start of the project the price of land in the area began to go up.

Fashola has for some days, been making official visits to the 3 flagship projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund and assured of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the completion of these 3 projects by 2023.

These projects include the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Dual Carriageway, the main works and associated infrastructure of the Second Niger Bridge and the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan Dual Carriageway.

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Minister of @FMWHNIG, @tundefashola, on the Second Niger Bridge, during his visit on November 20, 2020: “The President asked me to assure you that nothing would stop the completion of the project in 2022. The project is on course.” pic.twitter.com/PbwBo4U2op

— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) November 23, 2020

The Nigerian mining sector needs huge funds for exploration projects in the country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite in a statement issued by his media aide, Ayodeji Adeyemi on Monday.

He said, “Our focus is now on de-risking the sector, by the provision of more up-to-date and comprehensive data on mineral occurrences in Nigeria and enabling a more investor-friendly environment through favorable incentives.

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“The ongoing National Exploration Project (NIMEP), is government’s rapid response to the dearth of investible geoscience data.”

The Minister also called on more youth to take advantage of the N75 billion Youth Investment fund, approved by the federal government.

Adegbite explained that the fund was set aside to nurture and develop entrepreneurship spirit amongst the youths.

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He said, “This administration was interested in nurturing entrepreneurship spirit amongst the youth, viewing them as the leaders of tomorrow.

“The N75 billion fund is meant to assist youth who have good business ideas but no capital to back such ideas up. I want to encourage everyone who has a good idea to apply for the funds. You can get more details if you go to the website of the Ministry of Youths and Sport Development.”

He added that a minimum of N25 billion has been set aside each year for the next 3 years, totaling N75billion.

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What you need to know

The Loan, whose aim is to fund about 500, 000 youths from 2020-2023, has an approval range of between N250, 000 to N50million with a spread across group applications, individual applications, working capital loan set as one year and term loan set at three years with a single-digit interest rate of 5%.

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The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (MFBNP) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will provide the financing to kick-start the fund. Disbursement will be through various channels, which will include Micro Credit Organizations across the country under the Central Bank of Nigeria supported by BOI, Fintech Organizations and Venture Capital Organizations, registered with the CBN.

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Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, has directed Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, and the legal department to document an agreement with the Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Ltd., to ensure that the port becomes operational in 2022.

The Minister of Transportation gave this directive while inspecting the Lekki Deep Sea Port project at Ibeju Lekki, which is expected to be completed in 2022.

According to a news report by NAN, the agreement to commission the port in 2022 took place in Singapore. Hence, Mr. Amaechi wondered why the construction company was stating 2023 as the operational year of the port.

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He reiterated that the sluggish pace of the construction of the port can not be fully attributed to the COVID-19 induced lockdown, although there had been hitches on the way. Thus, it is important that the project becomes operational by 2022.

Why this matters

Upon completion, the Lekki Deep Sea Port would become the first deep seaport in Nigeria.

It would have two container berths of 680 meters long and 16.5 meters water depth, making it Nigeria’s Deepest Sea Port in the making, in the heart of the Lagos Free Trade Zone.

The port will also have the capacity to be berthed by fifth-generation container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU ship.

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Therefore, when completed it would take a lot of pressure off Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.

What they are saying

Commenting about the Lekki Deep Sea Project, Mr. Amachi said: “The contract for the facility was launched in March 2018, and as a layman, my views might not matter. However, we must tie them to a written agreement that it must be commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022.

“There are so many things tied to a port construction and many factors that can work against that date like force majeure issues or if anything goes wrong with the contractor. That is why we need to tie them to a verbal and written agreement that by 2022, Lekki port must become operational.”