The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N2.6 billion specifically for waste management projects across Abuja, while also sanctioning important contracts for road construction and streetlight upgrades in the capital city.
The approvals were made during the committee’s 14th meeting held in Abuja and chaired by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Chief Felix Obuah, Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), revealed the committee’s approval of contracts focused on waste management during a briefing on Tuesday.
“In today’s executive committee meeting, we sought and got approval for the ratification and award of contracts for the operation and maintenance of Apo Erector,” Obuah said.
“We also sought and got approval for the extension of service contracts for the operation and maintenance of Wupa Basic Sewage Treatment Plant,” he said.
Furthermore, the committee gave the nod for an extension of contracts for solid waste collection and management services covering 40 areas within the FCT for a period of two months. The total cost for these three waste management projects stands at about N2.6 billion, aimed at improving sanitation and waste handling across Abuja.
Road construction
Mr Richard Dauda, acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), disclosed further contract awards related to road construction and erosion control in Abuja.
- Dauda explained that contracts were approved for the construction of several access roads, including drainages and culverts, totaling about 1.7 kilometers in Durumi District, especially around the Apostolic Church.
- Additionally, the committee approved access road construction and infrastructure development in Mabushi District, notably Kez Udezue Street, involving underground drainage, street lighting, water, and sewage collectors.
- Also approved, according to the acting FCDA boss, is an emergency contract for erosion control affecting the water pipeline running from Lower Usuma Dam through Kubwa to Airport Road and down to Gwagwalada.
“Erosion had taken place on the major pipeline feeding the various tanks up to Gwagwalada, and it was a threat to the major water supply to all these areas.
“So, a Chinese company, CGC Nigeria Ltd., was invited to carry out the emergency work on the sites, and the approval at the committee’s meeting was to finalise the emergency repair,” he said.
Other contracts approved in Abuja include the renovation, furnishing, and technical installations at the Department of State Security Headquarters, and the construction of a magistrate court block in Jabi.
More insights
Among the memos submitted by FCDA to the Committee, which was approved, is the upgrade of streetlights on the 14-kilometer Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway (Ring Road I), which runs from Maitama to Gudu.
Dauda noted the need for this upgrade, citing the outdated nature of the current lighting system.
“If you pass there in the night, you will realise that most parts of the road are in darkness. Because the streetlights have been there for close to 15 years now.”
“The project was completed between 2005 and 2006, and the lights have become obsolete and no longer bright enough to lighten the road,” he said
The upgrade will incorporate a hybrid street lighting system designed to improve brightness, road safety, and nighttime motorability.
