Works Minister Umahi has stated that he is determined to making speedy work on the Abuja-Kaduna-Katsina-Kano motorway, with the goal of completing it in record time.
Nigeria’s federal government announced on Thursday that it had began designing the 1,000-kilometer Sokoto-Badagry motorway per President Bola Tinubu’s direction.
The Ministry of Works is handling the design of the project, which will connect Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Ondo, Oyo, and Ogun states with Badagry in Lagos.
Uchenna Orji, the ministry’s spokesman, stated that the government aims to complete the Abuja-Kaduna-Katsina-Kano federal highway within a record period.
Umahi spoke during a courtesy visit by Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, to his office in Mabushi, Abuja. During the ceremony, the minister stated that he was directed by the president to propose a plan to complete the project within a year.
He informed the governor that the project, inherited from the previous administration, would begin in three portions as quickly as possible.
The first segment of 38 kilometres by 2 (76 km) will be completed by Dangote Group of Companies using concrete under tax credit.
We’ll let Julius Berger manage the remaining 82 kilometres. The remaining 20 km by 2 (40 km) will be handled by BUA and reinforced with concrete. And I can promise you that the job will begin in these three sections in May.”
He stated that the Federal Ministry of Works is implementing the president’s instruction to design the 1000-kilometer Sokoto-Badagry highway promptly.
He also stated that a proposal was being made to link the South East to the North through the Trans Sahara Highway that would have a spur passing through Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and end in Abuja.
On his part, the governor of Kaduna State commended the President’s initiative to construct Lagos-Calabar road and the Sokoto-Badagry road, noting that the projects would enhance the socio-economic potential of the country when completed.
He underlined the need of the federal government’s engagement in Kaduna State’s Eastern Bypass, the Mando-Benigwari route that connects the North West. He stated that the road was crucial for agricultural initiatives in the North.
And, as many of us in Northern Nigeria know, farming is extremely essential. What we actually want is to create chances for those living in rural areas. This will undoubtedly benefit our farmers, particularly in terms of connecting their crops to markets. “Our people believe in this infrastructure to help our farmers,” he said.