Abuja’s 10-Lane Road Project to Gulp N257bn - Thisday
May 15, 2009 by bunmi
The Abuja Airport Express-way project embarked upon by the Federal Government will cost N257 billion even as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua said yesterday that the establishment of the Infra-structure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) by the Federal Govern-ment was a demonstration of its commitment to providing infrastructure in line with the needs of a modern economy.
Yar’Adua disclosed this in Abuja at the official ground breaking ceremony for the commencement of works on the Airport Expressway and Outer Northern Expressway being constructed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FC-TA).
The project involves the expansion of the expressways to 10 lanes respectively and the rehabilitation of the existing expressways.
He described the project as “another bold step in our march towards vision 20-2020, for which the quality of infrastructure will be one of the critical elements for economic growth and prosperity.”
He explained that the two roads which currently have only four lanes each were conceived to be 10-lane expressways in the Abuja master plan.
‘It is in recognition of the huge capital outlay involved in such projects that the Federal Government decided to make full use of the innovation, enterprise and management efficiency of the private sector in improving the road network and in providing better value for money for taxpayers and road users.
Yar’Adua also explained that the establishment of the ICRC as a regulatory framework is to provide a stable policy regime which is vital to achieving that quality of infrastructure needed to spur growth in our country and help enhance transparency, and promote efficiency.
He said funding for the project came under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) mode of procurement while noting that the FCTA will provide 40 percent of the funding while the contractors will source for the remaining 60 percent payment for which will only be made after completion of the projects.
In his speech at the occasion, FCT Minister, Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero, recalled that on assumption of office last December, the chaotic traffic situation on the Airport and Kubwa roads had already reached an alarming proportion.
“This prompted us to immediately endorse and support the previous and continuous effort geared towards their expansion and rehabilitation in accordance with the Abuja Master Plan,” he said.
Aliero disclosed that the total cost of the project is N257 billion and said that through rigorous and transparent procurement process, three well tested and competent companies emerged as the winning contractors for the projects. Messrs Julius Berger, he explained, will execute the two lots of the Airport Expressway project, while Messrs Dantata and Sawoe and Messrs CGC Nigeria Limited, will execute Lot I and Lot II of the Outer Northern Expressway (Kubwa Expressway) projects, respectively.
Aliero, who claimed that the project is the first of its kind in this part of the continent, also disclosed that the contracts also provide for the construction of interchange bridges. These bridges will be constructed around the Kubwa, Dutse/Bwari, Katampe Extension and Barracks/IBB Golf Course Junctions, along the Outer Northern Expressway, as well as around the Kuje and Lugbe Junctions along the Airport Expressways.
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