The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, has revealed yesterday during the 2016 budget proposal defence at the House of Representatives joint budget hearing on Urban Development and Regional Planning, Power, Works, and Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, that the Federal Government owes contractors handling road projects in the country about N1 trillion.
He added that the previous administration awarded no less than 200 ongoing road projects which have gulped N3 trillion with an outstanding of N1 trillion.
The Minister continued that the three ministries for which he is responsible have decided to work with the budget of N433 billion in the 2016 fiscal year.
Fashola while defending the budget noted that consideration is being given to bringing back toll gates on highways by the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
Fashola during the defence maintained that the nation’s economy stood down because the government was not spending and also because of the general elections held in the country last year.
He added that his Ministry has prioritised roads to be constructed, stating that such roads should be ones that would drive the economy and also serve the North and South, East and West as well as give value to movement of tankers and other goods.
Fashola stressed that his Ministry would also prioritise roads which are near completion and those with heaviest traffic under the three-year work plan which has been drafted.
The work plan aims at completing 2000 kilometres of roads which spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country each year for three years, he explained.
The Minister also gave a breakdown of the Ministry’s budget, stating that N208 billion would be expended on roads, N99 billion on power, with N66 billion for Housing.
Noting that over-head had the allocation of N17, 843 billion, while seven parastatals under the ministry, including FERMA, Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the Federal School for Survey, FSS, would share N26, 715 billion.
The top priority projects as listed by the Minister include; Sokoto-Kantagora-Makera Road, Katsina-Kano-Maidugari Road, Hadeja-Nguru-Gashua Road, Ilorin-Jebba-Makowa, Lagos- Ibadan Road, Enugu-Port harcourt, Calabar-Adokpani- Ikot Road and Ajibandele-Sagamu Road.
Leave a Reply