The Senate Public Accounts Committee has said it would ensure value for money in the utilization Nigeria’s $100 million counterpart fund for the construction of four new airport terminals across the country.
Chairman of the committee, Matthew Urhoghide, stated this when he led the panel on an oversight visit to the proposed new Abuja International Airport Terminal.
Specifically, he asked the Ministry of Transportation and the contractor – China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) – to submit relevant documents to the committee’s secretariat.
This, he explained, will enable the panel to ascertain if there is value for money.
The project was implemented through a $500 million loan from China and additional $100 million counterpart funding from Nigeria, bringing the total amount to $600million.
The $100 million was obtained as a loan from the Debt Management Office (DMO) at an interest rate of 5.37 percent for the expansion of airport terminals for Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano Airports.
The committee chairman also revealed that the panel would pay similar oversight visits to the other three airports before submitting its report to plenary.
Speaking with journalists after the visit, Urhoghide said: “We have come here to ascertain the expenditure of $100 million which is counterpart funding that the Nigerian government entered into with China Exim Bank. This is the first airport we have visited.
“We have asked for the technical details concerning this project vis-a-vis the funds that have been allocated to this project and the status of job completion. We have asked for the details concerning the design, bills of quantity and other details so that we will be able to ascertain that there is value for money in this project.
“Until we see the books and we compare them with what we have physically seen and subject them to technical analysis, we will not be able to make out whether their assertions are correct.
“We are directing them to provide the secretariat with all the documents so that this committee will be able to appraise their submissions for us to be able to make our inferences if this project is on course”.
The lawmaker also expressed displeasure over the delay in the completion of the project, adding that: “This project must be expeditiously executed so that the justification for the borrowing by the Federal Government will be established”.
Areas visited by the committee include the check-in, departure, arrival, baggage hall, lounge among others.
On his part, Permanent Secretary in ministry, Sabiu Zakari, expressed optimism that the terminal will be ready by December 2018.
