Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: infrastructure

  • Amaechi gives contractor 5months to complete Nigeria’s $1.6b Lagos-Ibadan rail

    Amaechi gives contractor 5months to complete Nigeria’s $1.6b Lagos-Ibadan rail

    • Funds are not a challenge – Rotimi Amaechi
    • Borrowing for infrastructure is not bad – Lai Mohammed

    Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has assured that the delay in the competition of the $1.6 billion Lagos-Ibadan rail project was not due to a challenge of fund.

    According to a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Transportation, Eric Ojiekwe,  Amaechi gave this explanation on Saturday during an inspection tour of the project, in company of Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed.

    stating that the delay was  rather due to lack of workers on site.

    Amaechi clarified that rather than a fund problem, the delay was due to lack of workers on site.

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    Echotitbits gathered from the Ministry’s statement that the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria caused the over one billion dollar project to pause.

    The minister, was however said to have tasked the contractor handling the -Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail, Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), to complete the project within five months.

    The minister, who reckoned that COVID-19 had come to stay, urged the contractor to develop measures such as making personal protective equipment for their workers so as to complete the project within the stipulated time frame.

    He added that safety measures such as compulsory use of masks and safety shields should be provided for the workers across the sites of the project.

    Also stated was the reason why the Ibadan-Kano $5.6 billion rail was yet to commence. The minister, assuring that the project remained a priority of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration,  stated that a loan facility from China Export-Import Bank, meant to commence the project was yet to be processed by the Federal Government.

    Ameachi’s co-minister in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Mohammed, commended efforts made so far on the project: “I am very impressed. This is the reason why we are borrowing the money so that Nigerians can travel in dignity and comfort”.

    Reacting to public outcry over government’s borrowings over the months, Mohammed explained that monies borrowed were not for grandiose display nor for overhead or running costs for the nation but rather for capital projects which on completion would create jobs and provide needed infrastructure for Nigerians.

    Mohammed added that borrowing for infrastructure and improved service delivery for the people isn’t bad.

    While also urging the contractor, CCECC not to disappoint on the project, Mohammed commended Amaechi for driving the project with passion.

    Also, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, revealed that the corporation was already working out modalities so as to commence operations on the Lagos-Ibadan and the Itakpe-Warri rail corridor in September.

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    Other government functionaries who participated in the inspection tour are the inspection tour included Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Board Chairman, NRC, Mr Ibrahim Alhassan Musa, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, among others.

    Photos:

  • Ogun Govt will now extend Panseke-Adigbe road Project to Opako bridge

    Ogun Govt will now extend Panseke-Adigbe road Project to Opako bridge

    The Ogun State Government says it is looking at the possibility of providing durable drainage by extending the ongoing construction work on the Panseke-Adigbe road in Abeokuta, to reach the popular Opako bridge along Obada road.

    According to a statement made available to Echotitbits by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Emmanuel Ojo, the state government took the decision in order to put a permanent stop to the perennial destruction of the retaining walls on the busy bridge, due to the lack of proper drainage.

    The original Panseke-Adigbe road project, which was started at the twilight of the immediate past government , was 500-metre short, with the intent to stop the new road around Alowonle area.

    However, the current Administration of Governor Abiodun is working with contractors handling the ongoing project towards extending drainage to the bridge, so that there will be proper flow and channeling of water, especially during the rains which have currently destroyed the approach to the bridge, even as the bridge itself remains intact.

    As at Saturday afternoon, engineers were at the bridge with excavators to put washed off materials back in place so that the road may become motorable, pending the time when drainage work must have reached the site.

    The State Government pleads with road users and residents to cooperate with engineers on site, while they carry out their duties in reasonable time.

    Photos:

    Tobiloba Kolawole

  • Lagos: Marine Beach Bridge for 5-month repair shutdown

    Lagos: Marine Beach Bridge for 5-month repair shutdown

    The Lagos State Government says there will be a partial closure of Marine Beach Bridge by Total Gas, inwards Apapa for a period of 5 months

    The partial closure, which will take effect from Wednesday 27th May and last until Wednesday 21st October 2020, is to facilitate repair work on the bridge and ease the free flow of transportation across the metropolis.

    The planned repair work on the affected bridge by the Federal Ministry of Works was on Sunday in a statement by the state Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, described as “vital to the safety of the people of Lagos, especially motorists plying the route to access different parts of the State”.

    Oladeinde explained that in order to ease traffic during the reconstruction period, necessary repair works have begun on all alternative routes around the construction area, making them motorable.

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    Giving details of the repair works, the Commissioner stated that: “the exercise, which will entail bearing and expansion joint replacement, is planned for two phases, with each phase focusing on one lane of the Bridge at a time. During the first phase, work will be done on the Apapa inbound lane, while the second phase will concentrate work on the outbound lane”.

    In an attempt to allay the fears of Lagos residents of imminent traffic jam that might occur as a result of the partial closure, Oladeinde emphasized that “adequate arrangements have been put in place to ensure that traffic within the axis is effectively managed during the construction period”.

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    “Motorists inwards Wharf Road will be diverted to the other section of the bridge for vehicles exiting Apapa. A contraflow of 200 metres will be put in place for vehicles to realign with a proper direction inwards Ajegunle or Wharf Road, Apapa, in order to ensure that motorists descending to Total Gas underbridge will drive without any hindrance”, Oladeinde explained.

    However, reiterating the commitment of the Lagos State Government to providing a transporatation system that will meet the aspirations of a greater Lagos, the Commissioner appealed for the cooperation of residents and vehicle owners within the area and assured that officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and other State law enforcement agencies will be deployed to the area to ameliorate inconveniences that might arise from the closure.

     

     

  • Ogun to become ICT hub, government approves new policy

    Ogun to become ICT hub, government approves new policy

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    The Ogun State Government has on Tuesday approved a policy on information and Communication Technology with a vision to make the state IT driven and a key player in the Info-tech sector using ICT as an engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness.

    In an exclusive interview, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Ogun State on ICT, Bunmi Adebayo said “the approval of the new ICT policy and implementation strategy goes a long way to show the commitment of Governor ibikunle Amosun to transforming the state into an ICT driven economy, which is part of the mission to rebuild agenda”.

    Adebayo also stated that “the Ogun State government deemed it imperative to put in place an ICT policy in response to emerging global reality, to bridge digital divide and to enhance the quality of service delivery from government to the people of Ogun State and other stakeholders”.

    The policy, which is tagged ‘Deploy ICT’ is designed to ensure that information and communication technology resources are available for research and development, urban and rural development, agriculture and forestry, including trade and investment for the purpose of fast tracking development in Ogun state.

    “Some of the objectives of this policy are to empower Ogun residents to participate in software and IT development, integrate IT in mainstream education and build a pool of IT literate manpower in the civil and public service” Adebayo said.

    The special adviser further reiterated that “In agriculture, ICT will be used to improve food production and security, in tourism, it will be used for the promotion of all our tourist potentials and in environment among others, ICT will be deployed to re-engineer and improve urban and rural development schemes”.

    Since about two decades ago, information and communication technology has been a catalyst for development in a rapidly changing global environment. It has challenged nations around the world to device bold and courageous initiatives to address a host of vital socioeconomic issues such as reliable infrastructure, skilled human resources, open government and capacity building.

    Meanwhile, the state government is set to host the 6th General Meeting of the National Council on Communications Technology. The event, which will begin on Monday 19th November and end on Friday 23rd November is being held at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.