N/A budgets N300bn for N-Delta devt

Posted by admin House, Latest Politics, Legislature, Niger Delta, Senate Thursday, March 24th, 2011

The National Assembly has appropriated an initial sum of N300 billion for infrastructure development in the Niger Delta.

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matters, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the money was for projects, such as the 704km East-West Road that connects Calabar with Epe in Lagos as well as the East-West railway line, linking Calabar-Uyo-Port Harcourt-Warri-Benin and Benin-Lagos.

According to him, other projects, such as inland waterways, land reclamation, new towns development as well as environmental clean-up are also covered by the money.

Kuku, who said that studies had commenced to determine the total cost of the projects, added that the region’s infrastructural development component of the amnesty programme was currently being overseen by the Niger Delta Ministry.

Meanwhile, Setraco Nigeria Ltd, one of the contractors handling the N200bn East-West Road, has complained that funding template of the Federal Government might stretch the completion of the highway to 10 years.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Michael Hachenberg, stated this in Abuja, when he was summoned by the National Assembly to explain the reason for the delay in the building of the 101-kilometre Section (II) of the project and possible solutions to fast-track the job.

-Vanguardwp_posts