The Federal Government has announced that the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway will be completed in 2026.
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi gave the assurance of the project being complete in 2026 during an inspection of the dual carriageway alongside the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, on Friday.
This is contained in a statement posted on the official X handle of the Office of the Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, on Saturday.
According to the statement, the Minister of Works disclosed that the Federal Government has a target to complete 15km per month for the next 24 months to ensure the 375.9km long dual carriageway project is ready for use in 2026.
- “Abuja to Kaduna is 165km out of which 45km had been done.
- “The total route length is 375 miles dualized, which is equivalent to 715km of central lane.
- “Now from Kaduna to Zaria is completed, we have only 20 kilometres between Zaria and Kano, and then we have 40 or 38 kilometres from zero point and then another 82 kilometres undone between Abuja and Kaduna.
- “So you can say we have about 88 kilometres plus 82 kilometres which is about 120 kilometres undone within the first section, second section: Kaduna-Zaria completed, 3rd section Zaria-Kano, only 20km is left,” Umahi is quoted stating.
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The statement further disclosed that the Minister of Works commended the palliative work done on the road, while Wale Edun assured the contractors of the federal government’s commitment to fund the project.
In addition, the statement also revealed that an outstanding certificate of N17 billion has been signed for the project, while another N33 billion is being processed to guarantee that the project is adequately funded.
The Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road connects other parts of Nigeria to the North, cutting through Abuja, Niger, Kaduna, and Kano States, the statement further revealed.
The federal government is confident that the completion of the dual-carriageway project will ease the movement of agricultural produce from the North to other parts of the country, which in turn will cause a drop in food prices, reduce inflation and then stabilize the economy.
Back story
- The Federal Government approved the reconstruction of the Abuja-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway in December 2017 and the project commenced in May 2018. Julius Berger was awarded the contract to reconstruct the road.
- In January 2021, Nairametrics reported that the Babatunde Fashola-led Works Ministry in the past administration had said the project was progressing appreciably and would be completed before the end of the Buhari administration.
- In December 2023, Nairametrics reported that the current Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed that the past Buhari-led administration owed N1.5 trillion on ongoing road projects, including the Abuja-Zaira-Kano reconstruction project.
- Recall that in January 2024, Nairametrics reported that Minister Umahi announced that the Federal Government was ready to clear the N1.5 trillion debt owed to contractors of federal highway projects.
