Historians and sincere researchers of nation building in Nigeria will have no choice but to reel a list of mega national infrastructure projects initiated or completed by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.
Such mega projects include the railway line linking Abuja to Kaduna. It was initiated by a previous administration. The Buhari administration completed and commissioned it for the benefit of Nigerians.
The completion of the dredging of River Niger and the long-delayed inland ports on that 4,180-kilometer long river, including the one in Baro, Niger State, is another example.
The decision by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal government to take up the construction of the vital Second Niger Bridge on River Niger at Onitsha and Asaba, is commended by all Nigerians.
The Bridge has been in the mouths and minds of the political leaders of Nigeria, right from when President Shehu Shagari first promised to build it during his electioneering campaign in the late 1970s.
The General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military Presidency commissioned its design, but it could not be started then, or by succeeding leaders, until President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan awarded a contract for it. The contract was canceled and re-awarded by the Muhammad Buhari-led administration at a reported cost of N366 billion.
Work started in 2018. It will be completed in 2020. The mega project comprise a 1.6-kilometer six-lane bridge and 11.6-kilometer approach road of six lanes. It is running ahead of schedule, thanks to the Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Raji Fashola.
Another multi-billion Naira mega project is the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. It is a vital segment of the Trans African Highway linking both the portion leading to Algiers through Zuba-Kaduna-Kano, and the portion linking Lagos to Mombasa via the Second Niger Bridge. It is ongoing at a rapid pace, pushed and driven hard by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
The Lagos-Ibadan highway facilitates domestic trade between the Eastern flanks of Nigeria and the industrial axis of Lagos and Ogun states. It smoothens intra-African trade as well. The project is reportedly contracted in a sum exceeding N500 billion. Most of it, 84 kilometers, is being constructed by an Israeli firm, while the 48-kilometer section is being done by a German firm.
The other ongoing mega infrastructure project under the watch of the Muhammad Buhari-led government is the reconstruction of the dilapidated Zuba-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway. Members of the Senate and House Committees on Works and Housing complained that the project is being implemented sluggishly.
Motorists plying the road regularly have equally voiced concern on the slow progress of work. The Federal Ministry of Works is silent on the slow and halting pace of work on the project.
The road is part of the Trans-African Highway linking Lagos on the Atlantic Ocean and Algiers on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. The 375-kilometre road project contract value is N155, 470,626,078.07. It is expected to be completed in 36 calendar months. Algeria has completed its portion of the road to its borders with the Republic of Niger.
The three mega infrastructure projects have one feature in common: their financing comes from the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). This is to ensure smooth funding. The NSIA is acting on the projects through its subsidiary, the NSIA Motorways Investment Company (NIMC).
Another mega project under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund is the Mambilla Hydropower project in Taraba state. A quick search on it yielded this: “Mambilla will be Nigeria’s biggest power plant, producing approximately 4.7 billion kWh (3,005 MW continously) of electricity a year. The project is estimated to cost US$5.8 billion and will generate up to 50,000 jobs during the construction phase.”
The construction of Train 7 of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) has commenced. The US$12 billion project will boost current gas processing capacity in Nigeria by 30 percent. Its construction phase will create 40,000 jobs.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, said among other benefits of the Train 7 project ‘’It ultimately promises greater availability of cleaner energy necessary for the sustainability of the environment.”
The flagging of work on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline on June 30, 2020, by President Muhammadu Buhari, is an important step in the commitment to deliver gas to industrial consumers in the hinterland, and ultimately to European buyers, via a pipeline. The AKK is part of that mega Trans-Saharan gas pipeline.
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari said, “The 614-kilometer AKK gas pipeline project was awarded at a total contract sum of US$2.592 billion.”.
The gas that will be delivered to Kaduna and Kano will facilitate power generation of 3,600 MW in two incoming power plants. The two power plants in Kaduna and Kano are mega projects in themselves and will generate more electricity than Mambilla Hydropower turbines.
President Muhammadu Buhari spoke of history while flagging off the AKK project, ‘‘Today marks an important chapter in the history of our great Nation. It marks the day when our domestic natural gas pipeline networks from Obiafu in Rivers State, Escravos in Delta State and Lekki in Lagos State, are being connected through Kaduna to Kano, thereby enhancing national energy security, creating balanced development and further integrating our nation.’’ Na’inna Dambatta
Historians and sincere researchers of nation building in Nigeria will have no choice but to reel a list of mega national infrastructure projects initiated or completed by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government.
Such mega projects include the railway line linking Abuja to Kaduna. It was initiated by a previous administration. The Buhari administration completed and commissioned it for the benefit of Nigerians.
The completion of the dredging of River Niger and the long-delayed inland ports on that 4,180-kilometer long river, including the one in Baro, Niger State, is another example.
The decision by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal to take up the construction of the vital Second Niger Bridge on River Niger at Onitsha and Asaba, is commended by all Nigerians.
The Bridge has been in the mouths and minds of the political leaders of Nigeria, right from when President Shehu Shagari first promised to build it during his electioneering campaign in the late 1970s.
The General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military Presidency commissioned its design, but it could not be started then, or by succeeding leaders, until President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan awarded a contract for it. The contract was canceled and re-awarded by the Muhammad Buhari-led administration at a reported cost of N366 billion.
Work started in 2018. It will be completed in 2020. The mega project comprise a 1.6-kilometer six-lane bridge and 11.6-kilometer approach road of six lanes. It is running ahead of schedule, thanks to the Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Raji Fashola.
Another multi-billion Naira mega project is the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. It is a vital segment of the Trans African Highway linking both the portion leading to Algiers through Zuba-Kaduna-Kano, and the portion linking Lagos to Mombasa via the Second Niger Bridge. It is ongoing at a rapid pace, pushed and driven hard by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
The Lagos-Ibadan highway facilitates domestic trade between the Eastern flanks of Nigeria and the industrial axis of Lagos and Ogun states. It smoothens intra-African trade as well. The project is reportedly contracted in a sum exceeding N500 billion. Most of it, 84 kilometers, is being constructed by an Israeli firm, while the 48-kilometer section is being done by a German firm.
The other ongoing mega infrastructure project under the watch of the Muhammad Buhari-led government is the reconstruction of the dilapidated Zuba-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway. Members of the Senate and House Committees on Works and Housing complained that the project is being implemented sluggishly.
Motorists plying the road regularly have equally voiced concern on the slow progress of work. The Federal Ministry of Works is silent on the slow and halting pace of work on the project.
The road is part of the Trans-African Highway linking Lagos on the Atlantic Ocean and Algiers on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea. The 375-kilometre road project contract value is N155, 470,626,078.07. It is expected to be completed in 36 calendar months. Algeria has completed its portion of the road to its borders with the Republic of Niger.
The three mega infrastructure projects have one feature in common: their financing comes from the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). This is to ensure smooth funding. The NSIA is acting on the projects through its subsidiary, the NSIA Motorways Investment Company (NIMC).
Another mega project under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund is the Mambilla Hydropower project in Taraba state. A quick search on it yielded this: “Mambilla will be Nigeria’s biggest power plant, producing approximately 4.7 billion kWh (3,005 MW continously) of electricity a year. The project is estimated to cost US$5.8 billion and will generate up to 50,000 jobs during the construction phase.”
The construction of Train 7 of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) has commenced. The US$12 billion project will boost current gas processing capacity in Nigeria by 30 percent. Its construction phase will create 40,000 jobs.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, said among other benefits of the Train 7 project ‘’It ultimately promises greater availability of cleaner energy necessary for the sustainability of the environment.”
The flagging of work on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline on June 30, 2020, by President Muhammadu Buhari, is an important step in the commitment to deliver gas to industrial consumers in the hinterland, and ultimately to European buyers, via a pipeline. The AKK is part of that mega Trans-Saharan gas pipeline.
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari said, “The 614-kilometer AKK gas pipeline project was awarded at a total contract sum of US$2.592 billion.”.
The gas that will be delivered to Kaduna and Kano will facilitate power generation of 3,600 MW in two incoming power plants. The two power plants in Kaduna and Kano are mega projects in themselves and will generate more electricity than Mambilla Hydropower turbines.
President Muhammadu Buhari spoke of history while flagging off the AKK project, ‘‘Today marks an important chapter in the history of our great Nation. It marks the day when our domestic natural gas pipeline networks from Obiafu in Rivers State, Escravos in Delta State and Lekki in Lagos State, are being connected through Kaduna to Kano, thereby enhancing national energy security, creating balanced development and further integrating our nation.’’
