FEC Approves N38bn for Completion of Kaduna’s Eastern Bypass

The federal executive council, yesterday approved the sum of N38billion for the resuscitation and completion of the Kaduna eastern bypass.

This is just as the council held a valedictory session for the outgoing minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed who was appointed last year as the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations.

Speaking to state house correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola disclosed that the Kaduna eastern bypass project was first awarded in 2002 at N16 billion, but the ministry had to get approval for N22 billion which brings the total project cost to N38 billion.

Fashola said, “We also presented a memo for the resuscitation and completion of the Kaduna eastern bypass highway, which was started in 2002 and was initially planned to be completed within three years but 15 years after, it remains uncompleted.

“The project was first awarded in 2002 at N16 billion, we have had to get approval for N22 billion verbatim and so that takes that project cost now to N38 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 will now be N29 billion.”

He also disclosed that his ministry presented a memo to construct the Cameroon-Nigeria border link bridge, at Ikot Efiom under the African Development Bank support for improving relationship between Cameroon and Nigeria post ICJ judgement over Bakassi and council approved that bridge.

“It is part of the link road between Enugu Abakiliki way which is already completed and part of larger Lagos-Mumbasa highway. $38 million is for the construction contract and $9 million for the consultancy and this was done under ADB procurement guidelines,” he added.

On her part, minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed said her ministry took a memo to council for the revised national policy on environment which was first formulated in 1991 and last revised in 1999.

She said it has become imperative that they have this new policy framework because what they really wanted to do is to capture some of the emerging issues that came up since then as regards to environment.

She said concerns such as climate change, coastal erosion, desertification, erosion, pollution and insecurity which have been exacerbated by the struggles for environment resources, were being witnessed in country at all levels.