The Senate on Thursday directed its Committee on Water Resources to investigate the delay in the execution of Kagara Dam in Niger State.
The contract, which was initially awarded for N199 million, was later reviewed upwards to N5.5 billion after it was taken over by the Federal Government.
The Upper Chamber also urged the Federal Government to consider the socio-economic importance of the project and ensure its completion without further delay.
These were among the resolutions of the Senate yesterday following the consideration of a motion sponsored by Sani Musa (Niger East) on the urgent need for completing the dam.
The project started 27 years ago.
Musa said the Kagara Dam was first conceived and awarded by the Niger State government to a Kano State-based company, WRECA, in 1992.
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The project, according to the senator, was conceptualised to provide potable water and irrigation to Kagara and its environs.
He added that due to the importance of the project, the Federal Government took over its execution and awarded same to Biwater Shellaber (Nigeria) Limited in December 1992 at the cost of N199,222,596.
The lawmaker regretted that the project suffered neglect due to lack of funding.
This necessitated its renegotiation in the Year 2001 at the cost of N2,219,746,244.75.
According to him, the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, the supervising agency, issued a revised estimated cost to complete the project in Year 2010 at N5,555,416,689.78.
“If this project continues to be operated in a ‘stop-and-go’ manner, the dream of our people for potable water and economic empowerment through irrigation farming will remain a mirage,” Musa said.
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