Niger State House of Assembly has inaugurated a nine -man ad hoc committee to investigate the delay in the construction and completion of Minna-Bida-Kataeregi road as well as other road projects in the state.
The committee was inaugurated when the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructural Development, Alhaji Mamman Musa, appeared before members of the assembly to explain the progress of work on the roads.
The house announced Honourable Muhammed Alhaji Haruna, representing Bida 11 in the assembly as the chairman of the committee, while other members represent Katcha, Gbako, Wushishi, Agwara, Borgu, Bosso, Mokwa and Lavun constituencies.
Responding, Haruna, explained that his counterparts had done the right thing by setting up ad hoc committee to investigate the ongoing road projects, particularly the Minna-Katayeregi-Bida road.
He assured that the committee would leave no stone unturned to see to the construction and completion of the projects.
Earlier, Alhaji Musa, had explained that the assembly had in 2019 given approval to the state government to access N25 billion loan from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance Minna-Kataeregi-Bida, Broadcasting, Paiko-Lapai, Immani junction roads and upgrade of Suleja General Hospital.
He said the 86 kilometers Minna-Kataeregi-Bida road project was rescoped from N25 billion to N17 billion for Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company to handle dualisation from zero to 15 kilometers as the state government counterpart funding, while IDB was expected to take over the construction of the remaining 71 kilometers .
“The initial plan was to construct only one lane, but we have to reacoped the project to double lane because IDB don’t give loan for one lane road,” he said.
Musa said the loan agreement was that the state government would fund 15 kilometers part of the road starting from Kpakugun to Garatu, while the IDB would fund the remaining 71kilometers, adding that 35 per cent from the 15 kilometers had been completed at the sum of N11 billion.
He said plans were ongoing between the Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with IDB for possibility of starting the 71 kilometers with IDB loan in order to ensure the completion of the road before the expiration of the tenure of the current administration.
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