The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the award of N51.4 billion contracts for the construction and rehabilitation of 13 roads across the country.
The minister of works, Mike Onolememen, made this known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The council also approved 13 percent derivation for states with solid mineral deposits as part of measures to attract investors to the solid minerals sector.
He said the contracts also included that of a satellite imagery map of Nigeria.
The minister said that FEC approved 13 contracts valued N47.8 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of 13 roads spread across the six-geopolitical zones.
“The roads for construction and rehabilitation are Vandeikya-Obudu-Obudu Cattle Ranch Road phase one in Benue, Mbaise-Ngwa Road in Imo and Abia and Abriba-Arochukwu-Ohafia Road, also in Abia.
“The Makurdi-Gboko Road phase one in Benue, Ohafia in Abia to Oso in Ebonyi, Sections 1A and 1B of Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-Kontagora Roads, respectively, in Sokoto State, Kebbi and Niger were also among those awarded”, he said.
Onolememen said the contracts awarded also included those for Kunya-Kanya-Babura-Babban Mutum Road in Jigawa, Zing-Yakoko-Monkin Road in Taraba and Alkeleri-Bauchi Road in Bauchi.
“They also include Aguoba-Owa-Mgbagbu Owa-Ebenebe at the Anambra border to the Awaha-Oyofo-Iwollo Road in Enugu State, the Ofa by-pass in Ofa council in Kwara and the Ikot-Ekpene border-Ada Owerri dualisation section phase one in Akwa-Ibom, Abia and Imo”, he said.
The minister said work had commenced on the roads since January and had reached various stages of not more than 10 percent in all the 13 roads contracts.
He said the approval was in line with the determination of the Jonathan administration to address the deteriorating
and deplorable conditions of the national road network.
“The federal road network under consideration is critical to the socio-economic development of the nation because the roads will serve various agricultural communities and lead to major industries and tourist attraction locations”, Onolememen said.
The minister said FEC also ratified the award of contract for the acquisition of multi-users and multi-spectral image map of Nigeria.
He said the contract awarded in favour of Messrs Infotera of the UK in the sum of N3.7 billion had a completion period of 24 months.
The minister added that the satellite imagery map “is a fully digital and multi-spectral map of the whole country with very high resolution”.
