Second Niger Bridge: Buhari to commission project in October

Everything being equal, the second Niger bridge between Asaba and Onitsha will be completed before the end of the year, the Minister of Works, Mr Babatunde Fashola has disclosed.

The minister who was speaking in the company of the Chief of Staff to Mr President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and the Minister of Labor and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, expressed satisfaction with the pace of work on the project.

Led by the Managing Director of the contracting firm, Julius Berger, Dr Lars Richter, the team walked through the 1.6km length of the bridge from Onitsha end to Asaba end after also inspecting the interchange of the access road at the Onitsha-Owerri end.

Addressing journalists on the bridge, Fashola said power will be shut down for about two weeks as the Ministry of Power, the generating and distribution companies would seamlessly perfect means to relocate the 332-kilowatt transformer lines over the bridge by April.

While appealing for understanding, especially from electricity consumers in Anambra and Delta states, the minister said it was not too much price to pay in realising the new bridge.

“Nobody will be permanently dislocated but there will be a temporary disruption of power supply for about two weeks to allow such work to go on. It is very volatile if there is contact with human beings.”

On the bridge having a toll gate, Fashola said: “This will be a toll highway, whether it will be concessioned or not is another story entirely. The responsibility of our ministry is to deliver the asset in conjunction with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

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“Once we have finished, they (NSIA) can concession if they want to, and we have already gotten FEC to approve the national tolling policy. So this is going to be consistent with what we see around the world. If we want to be like the world, we must be ready to do what the world does.

“We are looking at providing way bridges along the corridor so that their compliance otherwise we start the abuse that accelerates the deterioration of our infrastructure.

“This will be delivered on the best example as possible while we are upgrading others to meet those examples.

“The concessioning process is regulated by law and there are rules on how concession should be done.

“They are currently supervising concession process around 12 highways across the country. And it’s being open, so we have nothing to worry about.

“I just told that NSIA manages the funding, my job is to build the road. That is why the Chief of Staff is here to see if what we are reporting is consistent with what is happening here so that he can brief Mr President.

“In the national tolling policy, we made it clear that as much as it is possible when a road is to be tolled, there would be alternative. So when this road is tolled, the old bridge is an alternative which is not tolled.”

Also speaking, the Chief of Staff, Professor Gambari said it was the responsibility of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, to make the funds available in conjunction with the NSIA to finish the project that would enhance the economic development of the area.

Gambari who said that the bridge project was a priority to the administration informed that “the good news is that by April 2, this bridge will be completed, and towards the end of the year, by October, Mr President will come to commission it.”

Alphonsus Agborh