The federal government of Nigeria has approved the sum of N75 million for the reconstruction of the Lokoja-Benin Road, specifically extending from Obajana Junction in Kogi State to Benin City, and N64 billion for the Benin-Warri dual carriageway.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by Clem Agba, minister of state, finance and national planning on Twitter.
“I am grateful to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, as the approval covers section 2 of the road from Okene-Auchi, section three from Auchi – Ehor and section four from Ehor – Benin at the cost of N25 billion each,” Agba tweeted.
The Lokoja-Benin Road which was included in the Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme Phase 2 is a critical asset that links the entire South-South zone to the Northern part of the country.
Over the years, Nigeria has explored several sorts of funding possibilities including tapping the capital market in order to obtain funding from investors interested in a unique type of ethical-based loan instrument known as Sukuk, to help the federal government fund road infrastructure.
Sukuk, also known as Islamic Bonds, is a non-interest-bearing bond that has enabled governments to diversify their funding sources while also providing ethical investors with an opportunity to engage in government-issued securities.
The Federal Government had earlier announced that it intends to finish the dualization of the Abuja-Lokoja-Benin highway in 2021, and the project is to be funded by instruments like the Sovereign Sukuk Fund.
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The 25 projects funded from the debut SUKUK include the dualisation of Lokoja-Benin Road, Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja Road Sections one, three and four, the construction of Oju-Loko-Oweto Bridge over River Benue and the dualisation of Suleja-Minna Road in Niger State, all in the North-Central.
