NIGERIA: 2nd Niger Bridge at 91% completion – Fashola
At the special weekly ministerial briefing at the State House, Abuja held Wednesday, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) gave an update report about the stage of Second Niger Bridge currently.
Fashola disclosed that the all-important bridge linking Anambra and Delta states as well as connecting the Eastern part of the country to the rest of states coming South West, scheduled for completion in February 2022, is now 91 percent completed as he spoke Wednesday March 24, 2022.
According to him, the 206 billion naira project has directly employed 1,486 people, while 8,110 indirect jobs have equally been created.
The Works and Housing Minister pegged major projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development fund including the 375km Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway estimated at 797 billion naira; the 11.59km Second Niger Bridge at 206 billion naira and the 127km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at 310 billion naira, at 1.3 trillion naira.
He noted that the Lagos Ibadan Express Way and Second Niger Bridge will be completed by the end of the year while the main Carriageway of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano expressway is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2023.
The Second Niger Bridge was first proposed during the 1978/79 political campaign by then-candidate Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
However, in August 2012, the Federal Executive Council under then-President Jonathan’s approved a contract worth N325 million for the final planning and design of the bridge.
A somewhat complicated procedure continued under President Muhammad Buhari, who first cancelled the earlier contract in August 2015.
