Minister of Works, David Umahi |
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Works has secured a €25m grant for construction of 28 priority bridges in Nigeria.
This was disclosed after a meeting with a team of investors
from the Netherlands led by the Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Oluremi
Oliyide on Friday in Abuja.
The initiative is part of moves to secure additional funding
to rejig the nation’s economy.
According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser on
Media, Orji Uchenna Orji, the Minister of Works, David Umahi finalised
discussions with investors from the Netherlands to obtain the grant for the
construction of priority bridges in the country.
He said the grant is pending final discussion with Janson
Bridging International, Netherlands, and documentation processes with the
Ministry of Finance.
The statement read, “The Minister of Works, David Umahi has
finalised discussions with investors from the Netherlands to attract a grant of
€25m for the construction of priority bridges in Nigeria.”
Continuing, the Minister assured the team of the positive
disposition of the Federal Government towards accessing international
interventions from donor agencies and other development partners to address the
infrastructural deficits inhibiting economic development in Nigeria.
He added that an increase in partnerships and collaborations
was necessary to support the funding of the critical sector of the economy for
the promotion of robust and equitable economic growth adding that once due
diligence was carried out, a proposal will be presented to the President for
approval.
He said, “We have a number of projects that we can do
together. But I think the best thing to do is to conclude this one, which is a
grant, then get the process started, and at the point of agreement and project
selection, we shall refer to Mr. President for his approval”
In his remarks, the Nigerian Ambassador to the Netherlands
said the team came to discuss the offer of a grant by Janson Bridging
International for investment in road infrastructure in Nigeria.
According to him, “Janson Bridging is the largest modular
bridge manufacturing and bridging company in continental Europe and the largest
bridge rental company in the world. ”
He promised to assist in fast-tracking the agreement
implementation process on the side of the company as soon as all formalisations
were concluded.
On his part, a member of the team and International Business
Consultant, Eric Okunde said the investors were ready and technically prepared
to work with the Federal Ministry of Works in the mapping and design of the
projects as well as the formulation of the template for the execution of the
project.
In the 2024 budget, the government said it would spend
N837bn on constructing and rehabilitating 2,254 roads and bridges in the 2023
and 2024 fiscal years across the country to improve the nation’s deteriorating
road infrastructure.
Despite this funding, the state of highways remains poor and
in need of extra sources of funding.
The Ministry of Works has also stated that it is engaging
concessionaires and other private sector organisations to secure investments in
the construction of 35,000km of federal road networks.
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