By; Sunday Ode, Abuja.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved an additional N22 billion for the completion of Kaduna eastern bypass highway.
The contract for the bypass was first awarded by the Federal Government in 2002 at an initial cost of N16 billion.
However, the project has since been abandoned, necessitating a review which attracted an additional N22 billion and bringing the total contract sum to N38 billion.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents on the decisions reached at the weekly FEC meeting presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
Fashola also disclosed that council approved the construction of Cameroun/Nigeria border link bridge at Ekot Efiom that would cost a total of about 40 million dollars.
Of the sum, 38 million dollars would go into actual construction work while the balance of 1.9 million dollars would be paid as consultancy fee.
The Minister, however, explained that the bridge project falls under the African Development Bank support for improving the relationship between the two neighboring African countries after the Internationa court of Justice judgement that ceded the oil rich Bakassi Peninsilar to Cemeroun.
“We also presented a memorandum for the resuscitation and completion of the Kaduna eastern bypass highway which was started in 2002, and initially planned to have been completed in three years. But fifteen years after it remains uncompleted.
“Council also approved the programme to complete it now. It’s a fifty kilometers highway and dual carriage way with nine bridges over rivers and rail crossings.
“The Cameroon bridge is $38 million for the construction contract and $1.9 million for consultancy and supervision of the bridge under the African Development Bank procurement guidelines.
“The bypass: the revision of the cost.; when the project was first awarded in 2002, it was N16 billion. We’ve had to get approval for a N22 billion variation and that takes the total project cost now to N38 billion,’ Fasola said.
Also speaking at the post FEC briefing, Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, disclosed that council approved a new policy framework ton environment that would place a much better opportunity to engage with states, local governments and communities in executing the priorities of the Change agenda.
