The Federal Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has disclosed that the 2,097 road projects are currently being handled by the Ministry of Works nationwide.
Umahi disclosed on the occasion of the presentation and defence of the Ministry of Work’s 2024 budget to the Joint Committee on Works of the National Assembly in Abuja on Monday.
According to the minister, the road projects which include ongoing projects and inherited projects, had a total contract sum of N13,835,640,624,786, of which the total amount certified to date stood at N4,772,770,148,140.41.
Umahi, however, clarified that the total amount that has been as of November 2023 was in the sum of N3,140,569,453,163,82.
Categorization of the road projects according to special funding mechanism
Umahi further categorized the road projects under special funding mechanisms that include Highway Projects financed with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF); Highway Projects Financed with the Sovereign SUKUK Fund; and projects funded under the Road Infrastructure Development & Refurbishment Tax Credit Scheme.
Furthermore, the minister mentioned that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was also responsible for funding several road projects nationwide.
Projects financed with the Presidential Infrastructure Development FUND (PIDF)
Umahi disclosed that four critical projects are being funded under the Presidential Infrastructure Development FUND (PIDF). The PIDF Project is managed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
These road projects under the PIDF include the expansion and upgrading of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Section I (Lagos-Sagamu); the expansion and upgrading of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Section II (Shagamu-Ibadan); the reconstruction/rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road; and the construction of 2nd Niger Bridge and two Bypasses at Asaba and Onitsha.
Umahi said that a total sum of N846, 365,489,635.12 has been certified out of the initial project cost of N1,535,375,595,518.43 for the four projects. Also, he noted that while the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been substantially completed to about 90 per cent, lack of funding has prevented the project from being completed.
He also pointed out that sections of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road are yet to be completed due to paucity of funds. For the Second Niger Bridge, Umahi said it has been completed but funds are needed for the construction of two bypasses to make the bridge becomes fully operational.
Projects financed with the Sovereign SUKUK Fund
The Works Minister revealed that since 2017 when the Federal Government, through the Debt Management Office (DMO), initiated the Sukuk Funding Programme for financing road infrastructure, a total sum of N683.122bn has been raised to fund 231 road projects from 2017 to 2022.
Umahi further revealed that while all the work milestones for the Sukuk in the year 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021, the issued Sukuk fund of N110,000,000,000 for 2022 is being used to finance 63 ongoing projects nationwide. He, however, noted that as of the end of November 2023, the total sum of N50,537,288,079.45 was drawn down.
NNPC Limited funded projects
Umahi also disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is financing several road projects under two phases tagged NNPC funded projects Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The roads that the NNPC, in collaboration with the Road Infrastructure Development & Refurbishment Tax Credit Scheme programme undertook were identified as being crucial for the efficient distribution of petroleum across Nigeria.
The minister noted that while 621 billion and N1,969,700,168,910.78 have been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the NNPC Phase I Funded Projects and NNPC Phase II Funded Projects respectively, there exists a significant funding gap for these projects to reach completion.
Umahi said the funding gap for the NNPC Phase I Funded Projects and NNPC Phase II Funded Projects stood at about N3.56 trillion.
Road Infrastructure Development & Refurbishment Tax Credit Scheme funded projects
Umahi also revealed that several companies have leveraged Executive Order No.7 of 2019 to commit investments in the construction/rehabilitation of roads and obtain tax credits through the Road Infrastructure Development & Refurbishment Tax Credit Scheme program.
- “Twenty-one projects at a total cost of N1.338 trillion outside of those being funded by the NNPCL are being executed under this Scheme,” Umahi explained.
Also, the minister disclosed that four major highway and bridge projects are being funded through Multilateral Loans and grants from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the China Exim Bank.
