FG to review cost of 2nd Niger Bridge

The Federal Government is to review the Second Niger Bridge contract to ascertain the exact cost of the project.

The construction of the Second Niger Bridge, a Public Private Partnership arrangement, was awarded to Julius Berger at the cost of N130 billion to complement the ageing River Niger Bridge.

Aminu Dikko, director-general, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), told journalists on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, that the commission had asked the ministry of works to review and justify the cost of the project, as the project was not likely to be completed soon.

Dikko, who was at Aso Rock to brief the president on the activities and challenges of the commission, said the certificate of compliance for the project was also being withheld until all grey areas were cleared.

“The Second Niger Bridge is one of the projects that we discussed with the president. We did say yes, it is in the commission for regulatory oversight.
“We have been discussing the transaction with the ministry of works but before it can be finalised, the commissioner has to give a certificate of compliance. We haven’t given that because we have seen a lot of issues that we are uncomfortable with. We are talking with the ministry of works for them to correct it.

“We will also talk about the actual cost of the bridge eventually. We have asked the ministry of works to review it and justify how much the project should cost,” he said.

Dikko further explained that communities were still clamouring for adequate settlement for their land.

Onitsha traditional council, he said, had written to the commission, complaining that they have not been adequately represented in the transaction.
“We need to be convinced that these few problems are sorted properly,” he said.

Work had reportedly been abandoned at the construction site of the bridge, which was flagged off on March 10, 2014, by former President Goodluck Jonathan. The project, which had been given a timeline of 48 month, measures about 1,590 metres long and forms part of the 11.90-kilometre length project.

So far, N10 billion has been spent and, out of it, N1.5 billion was used for paying for damages and others, he had said at the time.

Legacy concessions inherited by the commission were also discussed. These include the Lagos International Trade Fair complex, the Tafawa Balewa Square and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

There is also a proposal to build three deep sea ports for the country with a combined estimated cost of about $6 billion.

“So, we are reviewing these proposals with the ministry of transport and in due course, we will come out with a position on that,” he said.

The president in turn directed the commission to involve the state governors in their plans to concession the silos to private owners, to see how best they can encourage their farmers to utilise these silos when they come into effect.

The president also directed that MDAs should ensure that they have adequate funding for development of project in their budgets, and if they don’t they should look for alternative ways of getting such funding, rather than expect funds from the ICRC, the director-general said.