FG Approves Abuja-Kano Road Reconstruction, Increases Cost to N797.2bn

 

The Federal Executive Council has approved the complete reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway.

With the approval, the government changed the scope of work on the highway from the ongoing renovation to complete reconstruction.

It therefore increased the project cost from N155bn, earlier approved for renovation, to N797.2bn reconstruction cost.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of the council on Wednesday. 

 “I presented on behalf of the Ministry of Works and Housing, one memorandum and one report. The memo was with respect to the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway, which was to change the scope of works from rehabilitation previously awarded because many parts of the pavement had deteriorated, to full reconstruction of two lanes on both sides.

“The council considered and approved the request for that change of scope and the incidental cost consequence; changing the existing contract from N155bn to N797.236bn to provide for full reconstruction of the main carriage way, trailer parks, way bridges, toll stations and additional side lanes in the built-up areas across the FCT, Niger, Kaduna and Kano states, which are all served by the road and this was approved by council for the same contractor," the minister said. 

The minister added that the job would be done in phases with the first phase being the 74km Kaduna-Zaria section, which is expected to delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022.

He said that the second phase, which is the 137Km Zaria-Kano section, will be delivered in the first quarter of 2023, while the last phase, the Abuja-Kaduna section should be completed in the second quarter of 2023.

The minister also disclosed that some roads that were recently rehabilitated would soon be handed over.

He listed them to include Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano-Katsina, Onitsha-Aba, Sagamu-Benin, Kano-Maiduguri, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba and Lagos-Badagry roads.