- The Second Niger bridge project will be completed on or before the scheduled deadline of February 2022
- The assurance was made by the federal government, through the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority
- The managing director/chief executive of NSIA, Uche Orji, says government is committed to ensuring adequate funding of the project
The federal government has assured that the N220bn Second Niger bridge will be completed on or before the scheduled deadline of February 2022.
According to the managing director/chief executive of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, the federal government is committed to ensuring adequate funding of the bridge project to its completion, Premium Times reports.
Legit.ng gathers that Orji, who visited the Obi of Onitsha Nnaemeka Achebe, at his palace on Wednesday, December 5, said the bridge would operate on a tolling system to enable NSIA repay the money injected by investors in financing its construction.
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He said: “We (NSIA) want to assure you, Your Royal Highness, of steady availability of funding for the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge by February 2022. The federal government sees the completion of this bridge as the key to unlock the growth and economic development of the entire South-East region.
“That is why we solicit the complete support and cooperation with the government of the host communities on both sides of the bridge to provide a peaceful environment to ensure the completion of the project on schedule."
Igwe Achebe commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment towards the project, adding that people of the southeast geopolitical zone believe that when completed, the bridge would positively impact their economic and social life.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the federal government set aside 1.3 billion dollars (about N468 billion) from the National Sovereign Investment Fund to finance five critical infrastructure projects.
The disclosure was made on Sunday, September 2, by the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The minister said the five ongoing projects to benefit from the fund included the Lagos-Ibadan expressway construction, the second Niger bridge and the East-West road construction.
The other two were the Abuja – Kano expressway construction and the Mambilla power project.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was committed to infrastructure development across Nigeria and would continue to revive and complete all abandoned projects inherited from previous administration.
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Mohammed said: “We believed that rather than starting new projects, it will benefit Nigerians to complete all inherited abandoned projects.
“To appreciate the commitment of the administration to infrastructure: In 2014 Nigeria spent N14 billion on transportation, N34 bilion on water resources and agriculture and N106 billion on power, works and housing."
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