Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has revealed that the Federal Government has put in place funding mechanism to ensure completion of the Second Niger Bridge.
Fashola gave the assurance on Saturday, May 19, when he visited the site of the project at Oko near Asaba in Delta.
Fashola 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.
On the Umunya section of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Fashola said the contract had been awarded, adding that work would start in earnest.
