The Federal Government has revealed that the Second Niger Bridge linking Anambra and Delta states, which was earlier scheduled for completion in February 2022, is now 91% completed.
This was made known on Thursday by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, during the Special Weekly ministerial briefing coordinated by the Presidential communications team at the State House in Abuja.
The briefing was to enable the minister provide further updates on key collaborations between the Federal Government and the State Governments in the implementation of some of the major reforms being executed by the Ministry and the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF).
Fashola said that 1,486 people have been directly employed by the N206 billion Second Niger Bridge project, with another 8,110 indirect jobs equally created.
He put the cost of the 3 major PIOF projects at N1.3 million. These projects and their various costs include the 375km Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway estimated at N797 billion; the 11.59km Second Niger Bridge at N206 billion and the 127km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at N310 billion naira.
While answering questions on when these projects will be completed, the minister said that the Lagos Ibadan Express Way and Second Niger Bridge will be completed by the end of the year, while the main Carriageway of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano expressway is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2023.
Fashola said that they usually have a monthly meeting of the PIDF which also the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Chief of Staff to the President who chairs the meeting and all the Directors of the Works and Housing Ministry.
He pointed out that the progress of the various projects are assessed in the meeting with the report passed on to the President who is very passionate about these projects.
Meanwhile, the minister has warned motorists to shelve the temptation to exceed 100km/h on completed roads, to avoid crashes.
He said the warning became necessary when he got messages from some of the road users commending the quality of work done, who said they were doing 150 100km/h due to the smoothness of the roads.
What you should know
- The Second Niger bridge is a Nigerian Federal Government project that is 1.6 km (0.99 mi) long and furnished with other ancillary infrastructure including a 10.3km highway, Owerri interchange and a toll station all at Obosi city, expected to be completed in the year 2022.
- The bridge was conceived under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo but was embarked upon by President Muhammadu Buhari.
- The bridge is being constructed across Nigeria’s Niger River and it will span from Asaba to Onitsha.
- The project is being developed through a public-private partnership (PPP) involving Julius Berger.
