The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved more than N115.4 billion for the dualization of the Kano-Kazaure-Kongwalam highway linking the states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina.
Public Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola made this known when he briefed House of Representatives correspondents at the end of the weekly Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, in Abuja.
According to him, the project was expected to be completed in two years and would be financed through the country’s tax credit scheme.
He said: “The Ministry of Public Works and Housing submitted a memorandum for the dualization of the Kano-Kazaure-Kongwalam highway, totaling 131.4 km, from a single-lane road to a two-lane road.
“So the Council approved that proposal at a cost of N115,425,896,907.15 kobo for 48 months.
“What is instructive is that the financing will be done through the Tax Credit Scheme of Bua International Limited. And they will use Messrs PW Construction Nigeria Limited, a company in which they have acquired a stake to undertake the construction,” Fashola said.
Also addressing correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi revealed that the Council has approved $183.7 million for consulting services to oversee three railway projects in Nigeria.
According to Mr Amaechi, the projects involved are Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Kano-Maradi and Abuja-Warri.
“The Ministry of Transport presented two memorandums and the first has to do with a contract for consulting services for the supervision of the different railway projects.
“You know we have three or four rail projects that haven’t started yet and that includes Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Kano-Maradi and then Abuja to Warri.
“Now, for consulting services, the following contractors have been approved at a total cost of $183.7 million.
“The contractors are Xi Engineers Infrastructure Excellence/Yaroson and Partnership Limited, Core Consulting Engineering Plc which is for Abuja-Warri, at a cost of $38.4 million.
“And then for consultancy services for supervision of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, with batch lines to Bonny Deepsea Port and Port Harcourt Industrial Park, and then Owerri, we have Gary consulting SDBHD/Jabu Global Services Limited for $97, 5 million.
“Then the last one is consulting services for the supervision of the Kano-Katsina-Cuttlefish-Maradi railway, to Techniques Engineering, Architecture Marketing Nigeria Limited and that is for $47.67 billion, all of them for a period of 36 months,” he said. . explained.
He further said that the council approved a concession agreement for the Onitsha river port to be managed for 30 years by the Inversal Elysium Consortium.
Minister of State, Health, Adeleke Mamora, also told correspondents that the council approved the contract for the construction of the corporate headquarters of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He said: “From the Ministry of Health, the council approved the award of contracts for construction and consultancy services, for the National Health Insurance Scheme corporate headquarters building here in Abuja.
“This is because it has become unavoidable to expand what is on the ground, to improve the operational efficiency of that agency which is the National Health Insurance Scheme, and happily the council considered the memorandum and approved it.”
For her part, the Minister of State for the Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, announced that the council approved the country’s policy on battery waste management.
She said: “Today in Council, the Ministry of the Environment, through me, presented two FEC memos and a report. The first FEC memorandum was the Energy Transition Plan for Nigeria.
“This memorandum was presented as a blueprint for Nigeria to achieve net zero carbon emission and will clearly set out the path for Nigeria to achieve this.
“The second memorandum was the Waste Battery Management Policy for Nigeria.
“This policy on waste management will create a large number of jobs in the Nigerian economy and at the same time protect the health of Nigerians, to ensure that hazardous waste such as waste batteries are disposed of properly. with regulations, including recycling in Nigeria as well,” she said.
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Ms. Ikeazor said that she also delivered a report to the council on the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), which Nigeria attended, and the country’s plans for COP 27 in the future.
(YAYA)