FCT EXCO approves major contracts to boost infrastructure development

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Executive Committee (EXCO) on Tuesday announced the approval of several major contracts aimed at significantly enhancing infrastructure development across the nation’s capital, Abuja.

The approvals were granted during the Committee’s third meeting of the year, chaired by the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike.

The approved contracts target critical areas including urban maintenance, road infrastructure, security, and public facilities.

Briefing journalists shortly after the Executive Committee meeting, the Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Chief Felix Obuah, stated that contracts had been approved for the operation and maintenance of the Apo Erector, as well as an extension of the service contract for the Wupa Basic Sewage Treatment Plant. Additionally, he noted that a two-month extension had been approved for solid waste collection and management services across 40 districts in the FCT. These contracts, he emphasised, reflect the FCT Administration’s commitment to improving urban maintenance and waste management.

Also addressing journalists, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engineer Richard Yunana Dauda, outlined key approvals relating to road infrastructure. A major highlight is the upgrading and retrofitting of outdated streetlights on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway (Ring Road 1). He explained that the 14-kilometre, 10-lane expressway, whose streetlights have deteriorated over the 15 years since installation, will now benefit from a hybrid lighting system to enhance security and improve the night-time driving experience.

In a bid to restrict the indiscriminate movement of pedestrians, Engineer Dauda said the Committee also approved the provision of pedestrian access control at interchanges in 12 locations within the FCT. He explained that these projects, involving the fencing of green areas at interchanges with mesh wire and the construction of walkways, are vital for securing sensitive areas, curbing the movement of miscreants, preventing open defecation, and ultimately beautifying the city’s interchanges. He further revealed that the Committee approved the construction of a Magistrates’ Court in Jabi, in addition to the two previously approved in Asokoro and Garki.

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Engineer Dauda also disclosed significant progress in district development, with new contracts approved for the construction of access roads, drainage systems, and culverts in Durumi District, amounting to approximately 1.7 kilometres of new roads. Similarly, infrastructure will be provided in Mabushi District, including access roads, underground drainage, street lighting, and essential amenities such as water and sewage systems.

To bolster security, Engineer Dauda added that the FCT Executive Committee approved a contract for the renovation, furnishing, and technical installations at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters. An emergency contract was also awarded — and has since been completed — to control erosion threatening major pipelines from the Lower Usuma Dam, which supplies water to Kubwa, the airport, and Gwagwalada, thus safeguarding a critical water supply network.

He said: “Erosion had occurred along the major pipelines feeding various tanks from the Lower Usuma Dam up to Gwagwalada, posing a threat to the water supply to all these areas. As a result, a company called CGC was engaged on an emergency basis, and the work has now been completed.”

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