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Tag: Second Niger Bridge

  • Fashola reassures on completion of Second Niger Bridge

    Federal Government has put in place workable funding mechanism to ensure completion of the Second Niger Bridge, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing Babatunde Fashola has said.

    Fashola gave the assurance yesterday when he visited the site of the project at Oko near Asaba in Delta.

    He said the modified tax credit policy, the Sukuk Intervention Fund and the Presidential Infrastructural Fund, among others, were aimed at funding infrastructure projects that would make the country globally competitive.

    “By my assessment, the piling work is now about 50 per cent.

    “At the time I resumed work at the ministry, only the bridge was designed and work had stopped but because of the commitment of the President, work has commenced.

    “For the foreseeable future, I don’t see any reason why work will stop again because funding has been provided,” he said.

    The minister said the contract for the construction of the already designed link roads from Asaba and Onitsha to the Second Niger Bridge would be awarded before the end of the year.

    Fashola said the federal government was also undertaking maintenance work at the existing Niger Bridge to ensure that it continued to serve the citizens.

    He said the ministry had received compensation claims in the realm of N3.44 billion to owners of land affected by the Second Niger Bridge project.

    “We have paid N1.8 billion. Our strategy is to pay in sections where contractors want to commence work immediately.

    “We have also received additional claim of N1.5 billion. These claims are the impediment to the entire project,” the minister said.

  • Second Niger Bridge main project to gulp N210 billion —Director

    THE Director of Highway Bridges and Design, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Sogbesan Adetokunbo said yesterday that the main project on the second Niger bridge will gulp N210 billion. Adetokunbo spoke in Asaba during a media tour of the project. He said the Federal Government had begun the procurement processes for the award of the project.

    He said that a memo had been written to the Bureau of Public Procurement and thereafter, would be sent to the Federal Executive Council for approval. Adetokunbo told the media team led by Mr Theodore Ogaziechi, the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing that, early works on the project were near completion.

    He said that the early works were preliminary projects to be completed before the award of the main contract. The director explained that the early works were in four phases adding that phase one, two and three were 100 per cent completed.

    This, he said, involved the design of the road, soil investigation, preliminary drawing and final engineering drawing while early work two and three comprises of piling and embankment works. He said early work was 45 per cent completed and currently ongoing at the two ends of the bridge at Onitsha and Asaba axis. ”The main works will be awarded in the next one or two months and the approach roads from Asaba and Onitsha axis will be awarded before the end of the year.

  • ‘Second Niger Bridge 44.6 per cent completed’

    The Second Niger Bridge is almost half completed, Federal Controller of Works in Anambra State Innocent Alumonah has said.

    The bridge links the West and East stretching from Asaba in Delta State to Onitsha in Anambra State.

    Alumonah said the contracting firm, Julius Berger Nig. Plc, had accomplished about 85 piles of 914 millimeter in diameter in different axis.

    “The contract was split into phases. Phases 1 to phase 3 have been successfully accomplished and we are now on early works in phase 4. Part of this early works phase 4 forms part of the main contract.

    “So far, the 1.2-kilometre sand filling of the road at the Asaba end has reached the height of 2.2 meters out of the expected five meters.

    “At the Onitsha end, we have done a lot of sand filling of embankments to a reasonable stage. We have done a lot of culverts as well.

    “In all, we have achieved around 44.6 per cent of phase of early work stage 4,” Alumonah said.

    He said the contract for the early work stage four was awarded in October 2016 and work commenced in November 2017.

    According to him, an advance payment of N2.166 billion was made to the contractor out of the contract sum of N14.466 billion for the early work phase four.

    Alumonah said the early work stage four project had a life span of nine months starting from November 2017 to July 2018, noting that there would not be any interruption between stage four and the main contract.

    He said the Second Niger Bridge was no longer a political issue as President Muhammadu Buhari had demonstrated commitment to realising the completion of the project.

    “The bridge is a link road to all parts of the country not just the South East. It is not a bridge only for the southern part of the country. It is for all Nigerians,” he said.

    The controller noted that the continuous maintenance of the existing Niger Bridge built in 1965 was a demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment.

    He said the stress on the existing bridge compelled the Federal Government to build a second Niger Bridge.

    He added that the issue of compensation of the affected people had been handled by the Federal Government to a reasonable level and had paved way for work at kilometres 23 to 31.

    Alumonah assured Nigerians that the main bridge would not take long to be actualised after the early stage four was completed by July.

     

     

     

  • Reps to FG: Fund Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, Second Niger Bridge projects

    Reps to FG: Fund Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, Second Niger Bridge projects

    The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to urgently decide on how to fund and execute the Lagos-Ibadan Road and the second Niger Bridge projects.

    The Lawmakers expressed concern on the confusion surrounding if the projects are to be fully funded by government or to be executed under a concession agreement with private firms.

    The House Committee on Works has therefore been mandated to investigate the nature of the contracts and concession arrangement and report back in four weeks for further parliamentary action.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member Solomon Maren with the title: “Need to Investigate Nature of the Contract or Concession Arrangement on Second Niger Bridge and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway”,

    Maren while moving the motion said both projects has not followed the established pattern of project execution, adding that that the minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently warned on the possibility of both the Lagos-Ibadan Road and Second Niger Bridge ending up as white elephant projects.

    Allocation for the projects in the 2017 budget were not adequate and they not not under concession agreement.

    His words: “Contracts for the construction of the second Niger-Bridge and reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Express Road have continued to feature in the annual budgets without any seeming signal of their completion or the amount required to do so.”

    Maren in response to a remark by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun said that though two contractors were handling the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway presently, the Federal Government is yet to make up its mind on the funding arrangement for,the two projects.

    The Deputy Speaker Lasun in a deprive from the tradition of not debating infrastructure motions tgave the floor to the chairman  Committee on Works, Tobey Okechukwu, to speak on the issue.

    Okechuwku who supported the motion said it has become imperative for government to come up with a framework for the completion the projects adding that this stemmed from the observation of his committee that while the Lagos-Ibadan Road is “supposed to have alternative funding”, the Federal Government has not made a clear-cut decision on the funding plan for the second Niger-Bridge.

    The lawmaker said the “piece-meal procurement” funding method hitherto employed by the government should be dropped.

    Mohammed Sani-Abdul who also supported the motion, said despite litigation on the Lagos-Ibadan Road, work was still going. This he said makes the situation in the second Niger-Bridge project of concern.

    The non utilisation of the N14 billion 2016 budget allocation and the N10 billion allocated in 2017 for the second Niger Bridge was worrisome based on the fact that the concession agreement for the project was between Federal Government and an international investment company which later sub-contracted the project to Julius Berger Plc.

    With no contract between the Federal Government and Julius Berger, the construction firm cannot be directly funded through budgetary allocations for the project, Sani-Abdul’s said.

    When it was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker who presided, it was passed by a majority of members.

  • 2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    2nd Niger Bridge will be a reality — Osinbajo

    The Federal Government has re-stated its resolve to complete work on the  second Niger Bridge as well as other federal projects in the South-East zone.

    The Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo gave the assurance during a funeral mass for late Mrs Roseline Akabueze, the mother of Mr Ben Akabueze, the Director-General, Budget Office, Abuja at St Gabriel Catholic Church, Ifitedunu, Anambra State.

    Osinbajo explained that the FG under President Mohammadu Buhari was committed to completing every federal project in the South East especially the second Niger Bridge.

    According to him, “President Buhari went to China to negotiate with them about the second Niger Bridge and East-West road.

    He said that everything have also been put in place to ensure the completion of Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

    Osinbajo urged the National Assembly to consider and accommodate all the federal projects during their deliberations.

    He re-stated that one of the cardinal principles of Buhari administration was fairness, which according to him has offered every political zone the opportunity to benefit from  his government.

    Also speaking, Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra recalled that Ifitedunu Community had benefited immensely from his administration, especially in the area of appointments.

    Obiano urged the people to apply for the second phase of his N20 million community “Choose your Project” initiative, which is  geared toward developing every community simultaneously as well as empowering the youths.

    Dignitaries present include the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Minister for Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udo Udoma.

  • Second Niger Bridge: Beyond politics

    Second Niger Bridge: Beyond politics

    Those who have followed events surrounding the construction of the Second Niger Bridge would have heaved a heavy sigh of relief at recent disclosure by the Buhari administration that it intends to commence work on the project.
    Before now, the same government through its Minister of Environment, Laurentia Mallam had told an expectant nation that work on the project had been suspended because the Environmental Impact Assessment law was not taken into account by the last administration. The announcement was not altogether surprising, as it did not depart sharply from the policy summersaults that had been the fate of that project in the hands of succeeding regimes.
    Not unexpectedly, interest groups in the south-east saw in it a further evidence of the hostility of the Buhari regime to the zone. They could not come to terms with the reasons adduced for the project’s suspension especially given the strategic importance and overall benefits it holds for this country.
    But addressing reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting just before the Christmas, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said the government had given a go ahead for work to continue on the bridge.
    He said the bridge was conceived as “Public-Private Partnership PPP with government financing but negotiations had not been concluded and it is important to continue to work there”. Fashola said government officials would continue discussions and see whether they could conclude a full business case and possibly concession the agreement to enable private investors come in and conclude the remaining works.
    The minister has gone ahead to visit the project site apparently to underscore the seriousness the government attached to this new commitment. He had said during the visit “I came here in pursuant of the commitment of the federal government and that of President Muhammadu Buhari to complete the bridge”.
    As a further evidence of this, the federal government last week announced the award of a N14.4 billion contract to Julius Berger for early works on the bridge. In a statement from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the contract award was said to be clear evidence of the Buhari regime’s resolute commitment to the completion of the project.
    For those who before now, consider the Second Niger Bridge project a pipe dream given the high-wired politics into which it had been enmeshed over the years, the renewed interest of the current regime to the project provides new hope for its eventual coming on stream. It is definitely something to cheer. This is more so, given the larger benefits to the nation the completion of the bridge that links the south-east and the south-west parts of the country will bring about.
    It is therefore a big relief that the current regime has gone beyond finding faults with the conceptualization of the bridge project to awarding a contract for early works on it. By that, the government has gone beyond words to demonstrate in very unambiguous terms that it shares the ideals for which the construction of the bridge has been a recurring decimal, the politics of past regimes notwithstanding.
    It is a good step that will go a long way to disabuse raging feelings that nothing good will go to that part of the country because the current regime did not receive huge votes from them in the last election. Be that as it may, it is also strategically and politically expedient for Buhari to complete the project since he or another member of his party will soon be seeking re-election.
    He must therefore have something very concrete and tangible to tell people of the zone to deserve their votes especially given their advantaged position in federal appointments. So it is even in the enlightened self-interest of the president to see to the completion of the project.
    But there are still issues to be resolved fast, otherwise the project could still suffer its’ characteristics fate. The government should move into quick action to commence negotiations with private investors so that they can come in and complete the project conceived under the PPP arrangement. Though the government has announced with fanfare the award of the N14.4 billion contract to Julius Berger but this is only part of the initial commitment of the government during the last regime to contribute 25 per cent amounting to about N30 billion of the total construction cost.
    With the total financial outlay for the project put at N117 billion by President Jonathan during the ground-breaking ceremony in 2014, it is left to be seen what impact N14.4 billion would make in the overall performance of the project. The larger chunk of the funding will still have to come from the private sector for reasonable progress to be recorded.
    In effect, even if the government meets its own commitment to the project, not much may come out of it until the participation of the private sector is fully finalized. There is therefore the overriding imperative to ensure that all impediments to the full realization of the project are eliminated by fast-tracking the process of negotiations with private investors.
    The other matter the government must be quick in action is compensation for those whose properties will be affected by the project. Fashola made references to this when he asked those to be affected not to disrupt the project in the overall interest of its larger benefits to the people. This may as well be. But indications by the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe that there have been no consultations with stakeholders on the matter cast some slur on the entire arrangement.
    It is pertinent that immediate discussions are commenced with stakeholders if anything, to identify all those to be affected and compute whatever compensations to come their way when the government is ready to pay. To leave matters hanging, only to rely on appeals to the sentiments of those who will lose property, is a sure way to court trouble. If and when protests crop up, the government or the contractor may turn around and hide under such to abandon the project.
    There is still ample time for all the rough edges to the project to be straightened. We say so given the fate which the project has suffered in the hands of previous administrations. Necessary steps must be taken to ensure that the latest effort marks a substantial departure from previous ones.
    With the current economic recession consequent upon the dwindling revenue accruals to the federal coffers, it is only to be expected that timely completion will save the government the huge cost it is bound to encounter due largely to spiralling inflation.
    Even now, there is everything to indicate that the N117 billion earmarked for the project in 2014 has been adversely affected by the exchange rate of the Naira. It will not be surprising if this becomes a big issue in discussions the government will hold with private investors. This point has to be underscored because in 2009, the Obasanjo regime had awarded the same contract to Gitto construction Ltd at the cost of N55 billion.
    We can see the whooping difference time has brought to bear in the value of the contract even when the exchange rate hovered around N19 per dollar in contradistinction with the current rate of about N340. That has been the prize we procured for ourselves due to tardiness in attending to strategic national projects with abundant economic benefits to the citizens. That is the bane of the kind of politics our so-called leaders play. The Second Niger Bridge project goes beyond partisan politics. The sooner we realized that, the better for this country.
    Overall, it is good a thing Buhari has shown commitment to complete the project. If he succeeds, he would have carved the niche of a leader who succeeded where others failed. Besides, he would have endeared himself to a people who have overtime, groaned under the shackles of neglect and near abandonment by successive regimes. Will he? Time will tell.

  • Fashola: Second Niger Bridge, Zik’s mausoleum ‘ll be completed

    Fashola: Second Niger Bridge, Zik’s mausoleum ‘ll be completed

    •Minister advises host communities against hostility to contractors.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has pledged that the Second Niger Bridge and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s (Zik’s) mausoleum will be completed by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    The minister spoke yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, when he visited the bridge, Zik’s mausoleum in Onitsha and Enugu Expressway.

    He was accompanied by Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano, traditional rulers and top government officials, among others.

    Fashola said the Federal Government was committed to completing the projects, adding that when completed, the bridge would improve and accelerate the economic prosperity, transportation and exchange of goods and services across the country.

    He said: “I am here in pursuant of the commitment of the Federal Government and that of President Buhari to complete the bridge.

    “It will give relief to the First Niger Bridge and ensure that it is kept in a good state of repair and maintenance.”

    Fashola said the Federal Government would compensate genuine land owners and ensure that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was addressed.

    The minister said the bridge was Federal Government’s first move towards a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with some investors.

    He urged the host communities to show commitment to the projects and avoid hostility towards the contractors.

    Fashola said it was better to dialogue with the government while work continued on the projects in the interest of the country than for the residents to confront the government.

    On the late Dr. Azikiwe’s mausoleum in Onitsha, the minister assured that the abandoned project would be completed by the Buhari administration.

    He said it was one little way to appreciate those who had served the country.

    Obiano hoped the Second Niger Bridge would be completed in good time to alleviate the suffering of its users.

    The governor hailed the Federal Government for refunding about N43.8 billion the state government spent to build and rehabilitate some federal roads.

    He urged the Federal Government to consider the completion of the Umunya axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway to avoid accidents.

    Obiano also called for the completion of the Nnewi sub-power station, saying it would be beneficial to the industrial town and neighbouring Imo State.

     

  • Fashola: Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Second Niger Bridge, others ready in three years

    Fashola: Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Second Niger Bridge, others ready in three years

    The minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola has said that the Federal Government is committed to finishing all ongoing projects within three years.

    Fashola spoke at the weekend after inspecting work at the Loko-Oweto Bridge over River Benue, which connects Loko and Oweto communities in Nasarawa and Benue states.

    He said the Federal Government would make funds available to pay contractors as soon as they delivered completed projects.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari have expressed very clear commitment to finish the ongoing and abandoned projects.

    “We are focusing on completion of ongoing projects; this is one of the many ongoing projects.

    “Lagos-Ibadan expressway is one of them; Kano-Maiduguri is one of them; Ilorin-Jebba is one of them and the Second Niger Bridge is one of them.

    “All those projects now, the contractors are moving back to sites and work is beginning. Gradually over the next three years we would complete many of them’’, the minister said.

    Fashola expressed the confidence that the resumption of construction activities would stimulate expansion of infrastructure, create jobs and generate commercial opportunities for the people.

    He said when completed, the Loko-Oweto Bridge would boost socio-economic activities in Nasarawa State and Benue.

    “You will see those who lost their jobs; they would come back to work. You would see increased merchandising and supply of building materials.

    “When this project is completed, it would open up these communities; connect Nasarawa State and Benue; farmers would benefit from the movement and transportation of their farm produce.

    “I am optimistic that we would get this project completed in 2018,’’ Fashola noted.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Loko-Oweto Bridge contract was awarded to RCC Nig. Ltd. in November 2011 at N36. 1 billion with original completion date of Nov. 15, 2015.

    The project was stalled in 2014 due to lack of funding and currently, at a revised contract sum of N51.6 billion, the project is scheduled for completion in 2018.

  • FG probes second Niger Bridge contract

    FG probes second Niger Bridge contract

    The Federal Government is scrutinizing the contract cost and conditions surrounding the second Niger Bridge.

    The Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Aminu Diko, disclosed this to State House correspondents after making presentations to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the Ministry of Works has been asked to review the contract cost of the project.

    He also said the Commission has also identifies some errors in the project.

    He said: “The second Niger Bridge is one of the projects that we discussed with the President. We did say yes it is in the commission for regulatory oversight. We have been discussing the transaction with the ministry of works. But before it can be finalized, the commission has to give a certificate of compliance, but we haven’t given that because we have seen a lot of issues that we are uncomfortable with.

    “We are talking with the ministry of works for them to correct it. The communities around that area are clamouring that their lands have been taken and that they have not been compensated adequately.

    “As a matter of fact we got a letter from Onitsha traditional council complaining that they have not been adequately represented in this transaction.

    These kind of issues we are not saying that something has not been done properly but we need to be convinced that these few problems are sorted out properly.

    “We will also talk about the actual cost of the bridge, eventually we have asked the ministry of works to review it and justify how much the project should cost.”

     

  • Second Niger Bridge on course – FG

    Second Niger Bridge on course – FG

    Despite the controversies that recently hit the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, on Wednesday assured that the project is on course.

    Speaking with State House correspondents, he denied the claims linking the project groundbreaking ceremony undertaken by President Goodluck Jonathan in March to the politics of 2015 elections,

    According to him, it is not in the character of the present administration to play politics with infrastructural development.

    Maintaining that the project will be delivered on schedule, he said there is massive deployment of machinery at the project site with work commencing on Early Work Phase II which included general preliminary, site clearing, earth work and construction of temporary access road from Asaba among others.

    He also explained that the Early Work Phase I was concluded before the project groundbreaking in March.

    His words: “Work is progressing as planned. Full Environmental Impact Assessment report is almost concluded. Thus far, everything is on course and we assure Nigerians that the project will be delivered as planned. It has nothing to do with politics.”

    “The process started in 2011 immediately after I became a minister. It is not in the character of this administration to play politics with infrastructure.”

    The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, also briefed the council on the progress report on the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam located in Taraba State.

    The project, when completed, she said would prevent total wiping out of five states by erosion and also provides hydro power and boost agriculture and tourism in the area.