The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved contract for the construction of the $39.9 million Cameroon-Nigeria border link bridge.
Similarly, it has approved the Revised National Policy on Environment for the country.
The approvals were given at Wednesday’s Council meeting presided over by the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Environment, Amina Mohammed; and Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, briefed State House correspondents of the after meeting.
Fashola, who spoke on the issue said the council approved the memorandum for the construction of Cameroon-Nigeria Border link-bridge, at Ikot Efiom with the support of the African Development Bank.
According to him, the project would improve the relationship between Cameroon and Nigeria post-International Court of Justice’s judgement over Bakassi.
The bridge is part of the link road between Enugu-Abakiliki Way which is already completed and also forms part of larger Lagos-Mumbasa Highway.
He said that the $38 million is for the construction contract and $1.9 million for the consultancy and this was done under ADB procurement guidelines.
The council also approved the resuscitation and completion of the Kaduna Eastern Bypass highway, which was started in 2002 and was initially planned to have been completed within three years.
Fashola said this road is a 50 kilometre highway and dual carriage way with nine bridges over rivers and rail crossings.
He added: “The project which was first awarded in 2002 was N16 billion. We have had to get approval for N22 billion verbatim and so that takes that project cost now to N32 billion
“The contractor was paid N5.5 billion in 2002. If we had paid the contractor N11 billion then when exchange rate was N109, it would have fetched us $96 million. If you multiply $96 million today even at official rate of N305, it is now N29 billion,” he explained.
Speaking on the Revised Environmental policing, Outgoing Minister of Environment, Mohammed, recalled that the policy on environment was first formulated in 1991 and first revised in 1999.
According to her the new policy framework was important because of the need to capture some of the emerging issues that developed since the last revision.
Some of the issues she said include climate change, coastal erosion, desertification, pollution and insecurity.
Mohammed said: “What the policy does is to look at all the different inter-sectorial issues that we have, whether it is with water, health, power, or agriculture and bring them to have a multi-sectorial response.”
“It went into an extensive stakeholder consultation, a greater part of the new policy environment sees partnership with the private sector and with the communities as absolutely essential to the sustainability of our environment.”
Mohammed noted that the new policy provided better opportunity to engage with states, local governments and communities and executing the priorities of the change agenda.
Meanwhile, Nigeria will commence the issuance of its first ever sovereign green bond in April this year. The bond will be used to fund projects targeted at a greener economy.
Amina Mohammed, who disclosed this explained: “The green bond is very much on track for issuance in the first quarter of this year. We have had too much interest and people are actually bringing in technical support.”
“This is the sovereign green bond and I think that is very important to note because what we want to do again is taking the NDCs and bringing it to life.”
“It is not just a document we signed, it is taking projects out of there that will rely on resources coming from the country.”
“To do that first we have to make sure it has integrity but by the end of the year we can talk about issuing green bonds that are international.”
“We already had indications from the stock exchange in the UK, China, who issue most of the green bonds in the world today over 400billion, they will be happy to come in our direction and do so.”
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