The Nation Newspaper

Tag: super highway

  • Still on the C/River super highway

    SIR: The government of Cross River proposes to build a N200 billion 275km Super highway. The state government claims that the super highway will evacuate cargos from the proposed Calabar deep sea port to the central and northern parts of Nigeria as well as Chad and Niger. Already Cross River State has two existing highway that connects Calabar to Benue State. Research has shown that it will cost approximately N200 billion to fix and expand the existing highway. This cost includes paying compensation to those that may be affected by the expansion of the highway. This alternative will not have any cost or impact on the biodiversity of the last remaining tropical rain forest in Nigeria and communities will not be displaced. It really would have made more sense to lobby the federal government to fix and expand the highway or simply collaborate and scale-up repairs of sections of the existing Calabar – Ogoja highway currently being undertaken by the NDDC and the Ministry of Works Power and Housing.

    The super highway project is not only ambitious, but expensive. There has been so much debate about the human and environmental cost of the super highway and very little debate on its viability for investors. How economically feasible is the super highway project? How will the project be funded? Who will pay back the money?

    According to the Cross River State government, the super highway project is will be funded by a Public-Private Agreement (PPA). The state government claims its investors will make returns on investment through collected toll fees from vehicles and trucks that plight the highway, evacuating the proposed Bakassi deep sea port. But the Bakassi deep sea port is yet to exist and as of yet has no organisation has signed up to the funding of the deep sea port project. The site of the proposed deep sea port is very shallow; seven metres deep at high tide and one metre at low tide; making it impossible for ships to navigate easily. Building a deep sea port at the proposed site will not only be technologically challenging but unreasonably expensive to maintain, due to constant dredging to maintain the depth required for large vessels.

    On the bankability of the super highway project, from estimation, even if over 700 trucks (which is 20% of all cargo trucks in Nigeria) plus 4,000 vehicles (as forecasted by the state government) ply the proposed super highway on a daily basis, the toll fees would have to be set at very exorbitant rate for the state government to ensure an investment return in 100 years without any interest.

    Pray which investor would put his/her money into the project, knowing two alternative routes still exists with no toll charges. It is the responsibility of the cross river state people to interrogate the state government into presenting the cost benefit analysis of the project, especially when the state will be borrowing for the project, not to forget the state debt profile.

    For state governments to be fiscally responsible, there is need for us to continually question the economics of developmental projects like this, else, we will continue to have signature projects that end up being abandoned; never serving the poor masses.

     

    • Ogechi Nnabugwu,

    Climate Transformation and Energy Remediation Society (CLIMATTERS), Abuja.

     

  • ‘Cross River hasn’t met guidelines for super-highway’

    The Nigeria Conservation Foundation (NCF) has said the Cross River State government cannot resume work on the proposed super-highway because it has not met guidelines set by agency.

    A statement by its Director-General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, alleged that if the project continued without proper EIA and Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) BAP, it will create environmental and social hazard on the people.

    It advised the state government to adhere strictly to provisions of the EIA Act and suspend construction plans.

    The statement reads: “Contrary to the claim that the Cross River State government has met all guidelines, the belated EIA report was full of errors and inconsistencies.

    “A revised EIA and BAP from the state government was submitted last January to the FME, which was passed to relevant stakeholders, including NCF, for further review. It was observed that the revised reports were fraught with inconsistencies, misrepresentations, falsification and errors. The observations were recently conveyed to the FME.

    “The threat by the state government to continue with the construction without an approved EIA goes to show the level at which it is unwilling to abide by the laws governing major development projects. It should be stated here that all such projects all over the country are obliged to follow the EIA Act.

    “No mention was made of over 185 communities that will be totally displaced from their ancestral lands and the vast acreage of forest land that will be destroyed.”

    According to reports, Commissioner of Information Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, described the Federal Ministry of Environment’s effort to ensure that due process is followed as “thwarting the state government’s effort”.

    She said though it had strived to meet all demand to ensure a take-off of the project, the government was still battling with approval one year after.

  • Super-Highway: Cross River hasn’t met guidelines, says NCF

    |The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has faulted the claim of the Cross River State Government on its proposed Super-Highway adding that the state is yet to meet guidelines set by agencies and so can’t get approvals.
    In a statement signed by NCF’s Director General, Mr. Adeniyi Karunwi, there have been reported threats by some cabinet members of the Cross River State Government to resume work on the Cross River Super-Highway.
    The Foundation allergies that if the project goes on without proper EIA and BAP in place, it will have both environmental and social impact of a scale better imagined than experienced. It advised the Cross State Government to adhere strictly to the provisions of the EIA Act and suspend any plan to commence the construction of the proposed Super-Highway without the approval of the Federal Government.
    According to reports, the State’s Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Rosemary Archibong, alluded to the process by the Federal Ministry of Environment to ensure that due process is followed as “thwarting the State’s effort”. She said though it has strived to meet all the agencies demand to ensure that these projects took off smoothly, government is still battling with approvals one year after.
    NCF claims that work was already being carried out at the site before any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was submitted, which is a gross violation of the EIA Act No. 86 of 1992.
    It reads: “Contrary to the claim that the CRSG has met all guidelines, the belated EIA report was full of errors and inconsistencies, which the EIA Review Panel constituted by the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME) observed. It was then sent back to the CRSG to effect the observations and concerns raised.
    “A revised EIA and a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) from the CRSG was submitted last January to the FME, which was passed to relevant stakeholders, including NCF, for further review. It was observed that the revised EIA and BAP were fraught with a lot of inconsistencies, misrepresentations, falsification and errors. The stakeholders’ observations were recently conveyed to the FME.
    “The threat by the CRSG to go ahead with the construction without an approved EIA goes to show the level at which the CRSG is unwilling to abide by the laws governing major developmental projects. It should be stated here that all such projects all over the country are obliged to follow the EIA Act.
    “No mention was made of over 185 Communities that will be totally displaced from their ancestral lands and the vast acreage of forest land that will be destroyed. Based on the foregoing, NCF wishes to state that for the CRSG to threaten to go ahead with the work despite the FME’s efforts to see that the process is followed according to the laws of the land.

  • CRS Super Highway and climate change debate

    While at the public presentation of the Environmental Impact Assessment EIA, for the Cross River Super Highway which held at the Channels View Hotel in Calabar on Wednesday last week, I saw a white guy, whose nationality I am not quite sure of arguing that the Cross River Super Highway should not be constructed because of carbon emissions and global warming and all that.

    But a quick search showed that, in 2013, world total carbon emission figures amounted to 35,669,000 metric tonnes.Out of this, China top the list after emitting 10,540,000 metric tonnes with average per capita of 7.6 while United States came second with 5,334,000 metric tonnes with 16.5 per capita.The European Union came third with 3,415,000 metric tonnes and 6.7, India is in the fourth position with, 2,341,000 metric tonnes and 1.8 per capita and Russia follows next with 1,766,000 metric tonnes and 12.4 per capita.In the sixth position is Japan which emitted 1,278,000 metric tonnes at 10.1 per capita and Germany in the seventh position with 767,000 metric tonnes at 9.3 per capita.

    Nigeria is not even on the top 30 list of global polluters talk less of Cross River State which still holds 50 percent of Nigeria’s remaining rain forest and Africa’s largest rain forest, but the world insists that we must preserve this forest to suck the pollution that we are not part of emitting.

    But at what cost really? Another question is….How did the West develop?

    The land area of Paris is 105.4sq/km, London is 1,570sq/km, and California is 423,970sq/km, while New York City area is 1,210sq/km.

    Atlanta is 342.9sq/km, Houston is 1,630sq/km, the industrial city of Guangzhou is 7,433sq/km, China’s capital, Beijing area is 16,410sq/km, Frankfurt is 248.3sq/km, and Istanbul area is 5,343sq/km, while Chicago is 606.1sq/km. The total area the superhighway will cover is 110sq/km.

    All these cities were developed after authorities cut down massive and large expanse of forests to develop the cities, industries, factories, roads, rails and other infrastructure that is now generating the pollution which the world wants the Cross River forest to suck up at the detriment of our own development.

    The Mexico banana farms and the USA wheat and corn farms came from felling forests. Terminal 5 Airport in UK was constructed on a Virgin National Park in spite of protests from civil society and environmental concern groups. In Switzerland and Germany, trees are fell to generate biomass energy and replanting follows.

    It’s important to note that capital spending, like the proposed super highway, creates an asset, and this gives a return over time in the form of growth.

    I agree like most economists have argued that infrastructural projects such as rail and roads create jobs, generate taxes and stimulate further spending. This is the economic multiplier effect that capital spending brings.

    Therefore, while an increase in public spending may create a deficit in the short term, the resultant increase in productivity will lead to a higher rate of economic growth and greater tax revenues.

    According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for every one billion US dollars invested in infrastructure in developing economies, between 49,000 and 110,000 jobs are created.”

    I clearly understand that if forests are destroyed or degraded, large amounts of gases that cause global warming are released into the atmosphere but I don’t see how creating a very vital road, like the superhighway proposed by Governor Ayade, through our forest and re-afforesting same will so irreparably destroy or degrade the forest, if that did not happen elsewhere when they were developing their own cities.

    The government has said that 275,000 trees will be felled and 5,000,000 will be planted. The Cross River Green Police was created with that in mind and 1,500 cadets have been inaugurated.

    While the West through pittances called donor funding, is promoting this attempt to stall development in the name of conservation, in Third World nations like Nigeria, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia, there is no corresponding effort to curb the activities of the giant polluters. Even Trump is promising not to respect the Paris agreement on emission control if he eventually becomes US President.

    My advocacy, rather than join those who say they don’t want the road is to say that the Cross River State government should pay heed to genuine concerns that are being raised by communities bestriding the route, activists, and lingering issues of compensation for those who will be losing land, and other related matters should be diligently attended to so that work can restart on the super highway project.

    For me I have chosen to support the super highway project and I will do the little I can and God willing, that road will someday become a reality to the good of northern Cross River, the entire state and Nigeria as a whole.

    For those who say the project cannot be done, let me end this article with a quote from Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – The King of Dubai in chapter 2 of his celebrated book: MY VISION: Challenges In The Race For Excellence:”Many years ago, some merchants came to me and asked me to approach my father, Sheikh Rashid, on their behalf, and discuss the large port he was planning at Jebel Ali. Since the economy was in recession and we already had a large harbour at Port Rashid that met their needs, they thought the emirate did not need a new larger harbour.

    “I felt, I should convey the message and shortly after went at dawn to the Jebel Ali area, where I knew I would find my father. He was standing on top of a small hill examining the site. I passed on the message and waited for his reply. He looked at me intently and said nothing, then he fumbled with the ‘midwakh’ he was holding between his fingers. After a few moments, he looked at me again and then to the ground saying nothing.

    “I dared not ask him the same question again and waited until he had finished his examination and asked me to drive him home. Once we took off and after relaxing his feet against the corner of the door as usual, he said, “Listen my son, I never answered your question because I did not want the engineers to hear. But I can tell you that the reason I am building this port now is because there will come a time when you will not be able to afford to do so.”

    “Before my father conceived and implemented this project, nobody had thought of executing one of such gigantic proportions. Even now, I have no simple explanation as to how the idea occurred to him, but if I had to explain it in one word, I would use the word, ‘vision’.

    “In his great wisdom, God gave each one of us a share of material possessions, capabilities and talents. Some people may aspire to little more than their daily earnings, while others have far greater vision.

    “Just like mature trees, capabilities and feelings have deep roots, if we do not know the roots of things or how to explain or define them, this does not mean they are rootless. An enlightened leader is capable of developing a vision and using his imagination to perfect it.”

    Jalingo, an activist and social rights campaigner wrote from Lagos

     

  • FG urged to expedite action on 260km Super highway

    FG urged to expedite action on 260km Super highway

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the construction of the 260-kilometre super highway in the state.

    Ayade made the appeal when the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, visited him in Calabar.

    He told Oyo-Ita that his administration has been asked by relevant federal authorities to stop work on the project until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was ready.

    According to him, there are challenges in delivering his signature projects like the Super Highway and Bakassi Deep Seaport for inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari within four years.

    The governor said it was regrettable that some persons were playing politics by ignoring the technical aspect of the projects which was important to the socio-economic development of the state.

    Ayade also urged Oyo-Ita to intercede on behalf of the State Government to get the federal authorities to discharge the challenges and ensure the completion of the projects.

    He said that Oyo-Ita could intervene by helping to ensure timely release of approvals necessary for the construction of the superhighway and the Bakassi Deep Seaport.

    Besides, the governor specifically appealed to the Head of Service of the Federation “to kindly put in words on our behalf to the Minister of the Environment and Minister of Transport.

    He said his administration desired that the federal government would expedite action on the EIA document on the projects before the Federal Ministry of Environment.

    “The Minister of Environment has come to see things for herself that the issues of the superhighway and the deep seaport were politically exaggerated by some persons,’’ he said.

    According to him, the construction of the deep seaport and the super highway will not degrade environment but add value to it.
    Ayade, who lauded Buhari for appointing three persons from Cross River into prominent positions in the country, described Oyo-Ita as a thorough bred technocrat.

    He said that Buhari deserved the commendation of every indigene of Cross River over the appointments.

    He also described Buhari as “one of the simplest and truest Nigerian president who loves this country and committed to the wellbeing and oneness of Nigeria.”

    Ayade noted the appointments from the state to include the Chief of Naval Staff, Minister of Niger Delta and the Head of Service of the Federation.

    He said: “Cross River State was also the very first to be visited by President Buhari. He made a firm commitment to return to commission the superhighway and the deep seaport.

    “For us to honour the words of Mr. President that he will come back to commission the projects, all the bottlenecks militating against the project must be removed.

    “Today, as we speak, there is no work going on, all the equipment that were mobilised have been down-sized.

    “The EIA has been issued but because of the petty concerns that have been raised, the Minister of Environment decided to come to see things for herself and she left very satisfied.

    “I want to put it on record that I have signature that is characteristic of me, to protect the environment.

    “There is no person outside our state that is better positioned to protect the environment than myself. For the superhighway, I have no intention to degrade the environment but to add value.

    “As I speak, we have been asked to stop work for a project that Mr. President wants to commission during my tenure.’’

    Speaking earlier, Oyo-Ita said she was in the state to seek for collaboration in areas of waste to wealth programme and technical training for the state’s civil service.

    She commended Ayade for initiating the projects and for being what she described as the most civil service-friendly governor in Nigeria.

    She appealed to the governor for a piece of land for the construction of the Federal Civil Service Training Centre in Calabar.

    Oyo-Ita also promised Ayade that she would do everything lawful to support Cross River as an indigene of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ayade granted the request for a piece of land for the building of the Federal Civil Service Training Centre in Calabar.

     

  • ‘Super highway ‘ll help Cross River National Park’

    ‘Super highway ‘ll help Cross River National Park’

    THE conservator of the Cross River State National Park, Mr. Yakubu Mohammed Kolo (Assistant Conservator General),  has expressed delight over the plan of the Cross River State government to construct a super-highway from Calabar to Obudu. He said this will aid accessible to the park.

    His words: “There are lots of benefits that we are going to derive from the superhighway. Right now where our tourist camp is located, Erokut Tourist Camp, is just about three and half kilometres from the road, therefore, that is an advantage to us in terms of easy accessibility to the camp by both park staff and tourists. It will also be useful in our marketing drive.

    “We also believe that the road will assist greatly to open up some of the rural areas as well as mobility of people. To this extent, it is a good project. However, there is need for the state government to adhere strictly to all the environmental issues that bother on the construction of the road, especially, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

    “While we crave for development, there is need to balance development and conservation as this can be made to serve complementary roles. We are pleased that the state government understands our position that the road be re-aligned completely outside the Cross River National Park, as well as provide a buffer between the road and the park.”

    Kolo also said the park is aligning with the tourism vision of the state government.

    He said: “When I arrived here and I realised that though there was a working relationship between the Cross River National Park and the Cross River State Tourism Bureau (CRSTBU) the park did not benefit much from its publicity programmes. The park is a major ecotourism asset in the state. It should be incorporated in the marketing of the state as the country number one tourism destination.

    “On our part we are developing some facilities to cater for the leisure needs of the various categories of visitors to the park.

    “At the moment, we have constructed 35 chalets, a student hostel, a restaurant, jeep tracks, nature trails, and camping sites at Erokut Tourist Camp. There are plans to construct a 500 seater conference facility in the camp this year as well as a canopy-walk-way in the very near future.

    “Again, we are collaborating with CERCOPAN for the release of some species of monkeys to the park, as Erokut Tourist Camp has been chosen for this programme. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed between the National Park Service and CERCOPAN. The experts are already on ground surveying the best location at the camp for the relocation. It is instructive to note that this project will be the first of its kind in West Africa. Furthermore, the release of these monkeys is done under best the IUCN best standards”

    However, Kolo said the challenge the park was funds to carry outs its plans and projects and managing relationship with the host community.  There was also the challenge of manning the vast park and keeping out loggers and poachers from the park. He said: “We will continue to engage the communities in dialogue as the park holds a great promise to the people. There is need for patience and understanding between the park and the communities. The resources belong to the people. The park management is only a trustee

  • Dialing into information communications super highway

    Dialing into information communications super highway

    In spite of the hiccups that occasion telephony in the country and the hundreds of urban and rural communities still ‘disenfranchised’, Nigeria marches on, dialing her way into the super highway of information communications technology, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Over the past 55 years, Nigeria has made phenomenal strides in the telecoms industry. But most of the significant milestones achieved in the sector only came after the liberalisation of the sector by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001.

    Before the liberalisation, the country had about 400,000 analogue lines issued by former state-run but now privatised telco, the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) and its mobile arm, MTel.

    The liberalisation ushered in the issuance of digital telecommunications licences to MTN, Airtel, Globacom and later, Etisalat.  MTN fired the first salvo while Airtel followed suit before Globacom, the only indigenous carrier, joined the fray. Etisalat came last. The earlier carriers got mouth-watering incentives from the Federal Government which was informed by the high-risk nature of the country that was just coming out of decades of military rule.

    The liberalisation has paid off. According to the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telephone penetration as at January reached 140,822,483, indicating the active lines/phone numbers on the operators’ networks

    Teledensity stands at 100.59 per cent at the end of January and expanded to 107.67 per cent by the end of July. Globally, Nigeria has been acclaimed the fastest growing telecoms market while the service providers have brought foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the sector to the tune of $35billion, according to the NCC.

    But in spite of these landmark achievements, there are still challenges facing the industry.

     

    Quality of service

     

    Call drops, unsuccessful calls, cross-talking and so many irregularities still pervade the industry over one decade after the introduction the global system for mobile communication (GSM) in the country. This led to the regulator rolling out what it called its minimum key performance indicators (KPIs). It got the telcos to sign onto these KPIs.

    Worried by this development, a tripartite agreement was struck by the Ministry of Communications Technology, NCC and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on the way forward. While the CPC said it had the powers within the law establishing to commit erring telcos to jail, the Federal Government said it will institute legal proceedings against erring operators. NCC too promised not to spare any operator.

    At the peak of its frustration over the issue, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), on behalf of the subscribers, filed a matter in court demanding compensation of N5000 each to the subscribers.

    The tecos have consistently blamed attacks on base transmission stations (BTS), bureaucracy in the grant of right of way (RoW), multiple regulation/taxation, vandalism of optic fiber cables (OFC), insecurity and huge operating expenditure (Opex) incurred on generating electricity remain obstacles to quality service provision. The new NCC chief, Prof Umar Danbatta has inaugurated a QoS committee to tackle the challenges headlong. He has also made it one of the problems he will direct his energy to address.

     

    Auction of 2.3gigahertz (GHz) spectrum

     

    Pursuant to the Open Access Broadband Plan of the NCC, it auctioned one of the 30megahertz (MHz) slots of the 2.3GHz spectrum band. The slot was won by an indigenous firm, Bitflux. It defeated Globacom to clinch the spectrum.

    The auction came two days after the launch of the sensitisation programme under the National Broadband Roadmap, aimed at mobilising the industry, the governments and the general public to become aware and receptive of the various broadband initiatives in our Broadband Roadmap.

    Former Minister, Communications Technology, Dr. (Mrs.) Omobola Johnson said the Broadband Council is already tracking the implementation of the National Broadband Roadmap. “We have also established very critical collaborations and even signed some agreements at the various levels between governments at all levels and the telecom operators,” she said, adding that the emergence of a wholesale wireless broadband service provider will key into that aspiration of the Federal Government, the Ministry of Communication Technology and indeed the industry, to accelerate and optimise broadband potentials for the socio-economic development of the country.

    “We are indeed encouraged by empirical statistics that broadband can transform lives and can transform nation as is already doing in countries where they are optimally deployed. We will continue to make reference to the often quoted statistic of a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration delivering a 1.3 per cent increase in gross domestic product (GDP). Those in simple explanation mean that broadband can increase business productivity, can lead to the creation of new businesses and jobs, can save lives, can deliver much needed skills in a developing nation, can provide security, can improve social engagement, and enrich governance.

    “The fact that the ICT sector contributes over eight per cent to GDP- means that broadband will accelerate the contribution to GDP in many folds,” she added.

     

    Licensing of Infracos

     

    The NCC has two infrastructure service providers (Infracos) in the country. The regulator said it will license seven Infracos one each in the six geo-political zones in the country while Lagos will have one. Five more are expected to join.

     

    Auction for

    2.6GHz  spectrum

     

    The NCC has also started consultative fora preparatory to the auctioning of another spectrum. Its Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo said the consultation will see another auctioning of spectrum in the 2.6GHz band to complement the one issued earlier in the year in which Bitflux, a relatively unknown IT firm beat Globacom to clinch.

    He said: “Participation at the last bid round for spectrum was very low because people knew that this particular one is coming. This is a question of choice and it is purely a business decision of the organisation. You have of two options and you ask yourself- Should I go for this one? If I go for this one am I going to have enough money to participate at the next one when it comes? Or should I just wait for this one because they don’t deliver the same kind of value? The 2.3GHz is for bulk that is wholesale. This one coming soon is different. So the point is that this one is different and people did their business plan and looked at the numbers. If the numbers added up for them to go ahead, they will go but if the numbers do not add up, they will keep their funds.”

     

    Digital switch-over

     

    Nigeria missed the digital switch over (DSO) June 17 timeline set by the International Telecoms Union (ITU) for member-countries. National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) said it is making efforts to realise a fresh timeline it set for itself.

    Its Director-General, Emeka Mba said: “We have now coordinated another agreement with our West African neighbours and have agreed on a new deadline of June 20, 2017 to complete the digital switchover and achieve analogue switch off.”

    He blamed the failure of the country to meet the global deadline on expensive political campaign which made the government not to fund the N70 billion required to prosecute DSO. The Commission is now looking at ingenuous ways of sourcing for the funding.

    One of this is the digital licence it has issued MTN for digital pay TV broadcasting services. “We have successfully licensed MTN Nigeria Ltd to use a part of the 700 MHz to provide digital pay TV broadcasting services. We have thus raised N34 billion, slightly less than 50 per cent of our budget,” Mba said.

     

    MNP/SIM reg

     

    The implementation of the mobile number portability (MNP) scheme flagged off last year remains in force. In a country where subscribers are already used to multisimming (use of multiple subscriber identity module (SIM) cards), the scheme is attracting slow uptake.

    NCC  said the introduction of MNP was in furtherance of the commission’s vision of providing not only access to telecoms services  at affordable cost but also to continue to provide the required stimulus and appropriate environment for the introduction of innovative services that will impact on quality of telecommunication service delivery.

    The registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards which began about three years ago recently became a source of agony for subscribers. No fewer than 10million got their numbers ‘rudely’ deactivated on the directive of the regulator which argued that it had shipped some improperly registered SIM cards to the telcos for correction since 2012.

     

    Broadband Plan launch

     

    Amid pomp and celebration, the Federal Government launched its roadmap for deepening broadband penetration in the country.

    Christened Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2013-2018, the 105-page document set ambitious targets for broadband growth in the country because of the multiplier effects affordable, fast and ubiquitous internet access could impact on the various segments of the economy.

    The NNBP defines Broadband as an Internet experience where the user can access the most demanding content in real time at a minimum speed of 1.5 megabytes per second (MBPS).

    Director, Regulatory Affairs, Airtel Nigeria, Osondu Nwokoro, said at six per cent broadband penetration presently, there is both a challenge and an opportunity to meet the goal of realising a five-fold increase in broadband penetration by 2017.

    The Broadband Commission for Digital Development said: “Access to broadband infrastructure and services must therefore be a top policy priority for countries around the globe, developed and developing alike as well as least developed countries.” It therefore urged “governments and business to work together to develop innovative policy frameworks, business models and financing arrangements needed to facilitate growth in access to broadband worldwide.”

    According to NBP, fixed broadband targets for cities (which is standing at 1.5per cent) expected to go up to 10 per cent in 2015 in the short term, 16 per cent medium term of 2018 and long term target of 25 per cent by 2020. Penetration level which stands at 0.5per cent, will move up gradually to 3.3 per cent, 5.3 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively

    For national broadband targets, current level is 35 per cent while short term target is 60 per cent (2015). For medium term (2018), 80 per cent is targeted while 95 per cent is targeted by 2020 as long term target.

  • China to unveil $46b super highway to Pakistan

    The building of a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a network of roads, railway and pipelines is on course.

    It will run some 3,000km (1,865 miles) from Gwadar in Pakistan to China’s western Xinjiang region.

    The projects will give China direct access to the Indian Ocean and beyond.

    This marks a major advance in China’s plans to boost its economic influence in Central and South Asia, correspondents say, and far exceeds US spending in Pakistan.

    “Pakistan, for China, is now of pivotal importance. This has to succeed and be seen to succeed,” Reuters quoted Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Pakistani parliament’s defence committee, as saying.

    Pakistan, for its part, hopes the investment will boost its struggling economy and help end chronic power shortages.

    China plans to inject some $46billion – just a little less than three times the entire foreign direct investment Pakistan has received since 2008. Many say Mr Sharif’s penchant for “thinking big” and China’s increasing need to control maritime trade routes may well combine to pull off an economic miracle in Pakistan over the next four years, when officials say most of the projects being finalised today will reach completion.

    But there are questions over Pakistan’s ability to absorb this investment given its chronic problems with militancy, separatism, political volatility and official corruption.

    China is worried about violence from ethnic Uighurs in its mostly Muslim north-western Xinjiang region and fears hardline separatists could team up with Uighur Islamic militants fighting alongside members of Pakistan’s Taliban.

    In Pakistan, a decade-old separatist insurgency in Balochistan province, where the economic corridor starts, makes that area extremely volatile. Many observers believe however that the incentive of an economic miracle may make Islamabad work a bit harder to stabilise the situation.

    Leaders are also expected to discuss co-operation on security.

    Xi will spend two days holding talks with his counterpart Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other ministers. He will address parliament.

    Deals worth some $28billion are ready to be signed during the visit, with the rest to follow.

    Under the CPEC plan, China’s government and banks will lend to Chinese companies, so they can invest in projects as commercial ventures.

    A network of roads, railways and energy developments will eventually stretch some 3,000km (1,865 miles).

    Some $15.5billion worth of coal, wind, solar and hydro energy projects will come online by 2017 and add 10,400 megawatts of energy to Pakistan’s national grid, according to officials.

    A $44m optical fibre cable between the two countries is also due to be built.

    Mr Xi will hold talks with Pakistan’s president and prime minister