Nigeria to issue N100 billion bond to complete Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

The works minister said the new contractor commenced work on the road last year

The Federal Government, Tuesday, said it was ready to issue N100 billion road and infrastructure bond for the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, disclosed this while receiving the Ibrahim Mantu-led PDP Reloaded Committee in his office in Abuja.

Mr. Onolememen told the committee that the bond is to enable the early completion of the road.

“The government has made commitment up to the sum of N50 billion to the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, while N25 billion would be made available in 2014 and in 2015.

“This is after the mobilisation of the contractors last year by the federal government.

“There are several government institutions that are also putting up to N17 billion on that road to ensure its timely completion”, he said.

Mr. Onolememen said that the road project was not abandoned as people claimed, but that the ministry of works was working to deliver a good road to Nigerians.

He added that the contract was revoked from the first Nigerian concessioner, who was awarded the contract in 2009, because he did not perform well.

The minister added that since the contract was re-awarded to Julius Berger and the RCC, work on the road had improved significantly.

“The federal government had to terminate the first contract because the contractor did not do anything in three years, not even a kilometre, on the expressway.

“In fact, since that road was rewarded, work has been going on unabated and people who travelled on the route during the last yuletide attested to that fact,” he said.

The minister said the ministry would continue to follow the ground norm of the Federal Highway Act to invest and deliver good arterial roads to Nigerians.

He added that road is a very important infrastructure and about 95 per cent of Nigerians travel by roads, assuring that most roads would get better.

Earlier, Mr. Mantu, a former deputy senate president, who led the PDP committee to the ministry, said the committee was visiting and monitoring projects executed by the PDP government.

“In the last two months, we secretly constituted six zonal inspection committees, made up of our members to inspect all completed (and) ongoing road projects.

“We are pleasantly shocked with the degree of progress made nationwide and this means that the nation is getting value for its money’’, he said.

He applauded the minister for completing 2000km of 32 roads in two years.

The Minister of State for Works, Bashir Yuguda, thanked the committee for the commendation given to the ministry, saying it would propel them to do more than they were presently doing.

The PDP committee decorated and presented a plaque to the minister.

(NAN)