In the News:
NIGERIAN DREDGING AND TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
FG redirects aspects of River Niger Dredging
President Goodluck Jonathan
The Federal Government yesterday halted the dredging of the lower River Niger pending the total protection of shorelines through land reclamation of areas in the Niger Delta.
This was the outcome of a meeting that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan had with the Steering Council of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Consequently, Jonathan has directed the Ministry of Finance to transfer N19 billion intervention funds for the dredging of that part of the lower River Niger to the Ministry of the Niger Delta for shoreline protection and land reclamation. He also directed that the contract should be executed in four weeks’ time.
Special Assistant, Media to the acting President Mr. Ima Niboro, who briefed reporters on the outcome of the meeting, said the change was part of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government.
The meeting, which was also attended by governors from the Niger Delta states, also resolved that the most urgent requirements are land reclamation and shoreline protection, instead of dredging of the lower River Niger.
“There was a proposal to dredge the lower Niger and because of some issues about the areas, the Acting President decided to get the governors to take a look at these proposals and see the area of critical needs of their own states so that we can take a bottom up approach in the area of infrastructural development of the Niger Delta. Basically, the issue was between the dredging of the lower Niger and shoreline protection/land reclamation and all the governors are of the consensus that the most urgent requirement is land reclamation and shore protection.
“So today, the Acting President directed that the N19 billion intervention fund should be passed to the Ministry of Niger Delta from the Ministry of Finance for this shoreline protection initiative.
“The special intervention fund was supposed to be for the dredging of that part. So instead of using it to dredge now which will cause greater challenges, you know when dredged, the water channels become deeper, flows become faster and it will actually impact more on the shores of the communities. So it is that fund that is to be redeployed to protect the shorelines according to the request of the communities.
“Subsequently, when these areas have been well protected and land adequately reclaimed, then we can now go into the area of dredging of the lower Niger area,” Niboro said.
He said the reversal became necessary in order to protect communities in the Niger Delta and the decision has no any political undertone. “In fact there have been several instances of communities that have lost much of their shorelines to the ocean. Bayelsa State has lost almost one kilometre if not more of its shoreline to the ocean because of its root that surrounds erosion and all that. Many communities have lost most of their land to water. anybody from the area can attest to that,” he said.
Speaking on the project, Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State said shoreline protection was the immediate priority of the communities in the Niger Delta because of the effect of the ocean on their lands.
“Right now, the thing that will touch our people more importantly is shoreline reclamation and protection because the people will see it immediately and know that the Federal Government is doing something about their situation,” he said.
The making of Nigeria's newest international Airport at Akobo, Akwa Ibom State
Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State
The formerly sleepy town of Akobo in the local government with same name in Akwa Ibom State is now alive with activity and guests who pass through the newest international airport now being constructed by the state government. Akobo is an agrarian enclave and from the air the approach to land at the airport will present the first time visitor with idyllic marine fauna, mangrove swamps and curvy rivers snaking their way to the Atlantic, and, after the Arik jet banks to the right and left, positioning for the runway, the outlines of a very big airport-in-the-making came into view.
As at December 2009 when this reporter passed through this way, work was going on at a furious pace at this airport. The runway had newly been completed as well as the terminal building which boasted of mainly essential structures and services: arrival and departure lounges, car parks, fire service, a massive hangar in skeleton being put in place, etc. But there was no doubt that the project has gone a long way off the ground, and compared to a jet in flight, is in the air, well on her way.
The advantages of this project are very many. First of all, it takes the state and its economy into the jet set of states that have, as the military would say, an air head. Trips to Uyo and Oron or Eket need no longer be convoluted and time-wasting as many important locations in this state can be reached within half an hour or thereabout. During the time we passed through, passenger patronage of the Arik flights to Lagos and Abuja was always fully booked, possibly due to the yuletide seasonal movements of township dwellers to connect with their kit and kin in the villages. But even thereafter, the strategic locations of the state in the oil and gas industry would ensure a steady patronage of high net-worth customers made up of oil workers and sundry business people. A source who responded to our enquiries confided that Aero Contractors and Virgin Nigeria airlines have visited the new airport, apparently surveying operational opportunities. But as at March 2010, Dana Air had taken over from Arik on the route.
In Uyo and Oron where this reporter called during the short visit, every mention of the airport project brought eulogies to Governor Godswill Akpabio for taking up and completing the huge project which he inherited from the previous Obong Victor Attah administration. Many commended the gesture especially because of the habit of many new administrations in Nigeria to abandon projects initiated by their predecessors in favour of new ones conceived by them, even if the olden projects may be of benefit to the state. Indeed the praises being showered on the Akpabio administration seem to be justified because of the many road projects being undertaken and witnessed by DDH. These are high quality road projects in various stages of completion but they made commuting around the state very easy and pleasurable. In fact, the new airport is located off a dual carriageway being newly constructed to link Uyo with Oron and the completed section is of highly superior grade. As someone commented at the airport during our return trip, as we queued up at the Arik counter for check-in, Akwa Ibom is fast shooting to the front of the line among states in Nigeria, and her indigenes are now eagerly boasting of her whereas in the past some of them were even shy to identify with their motherland.
DDH gathered that aside from the framework of the hangar under construction, the airport, which is being handled by a consortium in liaison with the state government, will also have a hotel complex in the vicinity apart from other structures. From the facts on the ground, this move by the state government is bound to result in multiplier developments that will blow a good economic and social wind on the people of the state.
FG Undertakes National Transport Survey
The Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT) is to carry out a national transport survey and projection which will provide a reliable data for transport policy formulation and planning in the country, according to information being released by NITT. The National Institute for Transport Technology (NITT) is the parastatal which has been commissioned to undertake the exercise.
Addressing journalists on the issue in Zaria, Acting Director General of the Institute, Dr. Abdulganiyu Samaila, said the research became imperative because Nigeria does not have an up-to-date information on its transport sector that can be used for policy implementation.
According to him, the last time a similar exercise was carried out was in 1983. He said due to modern dynamics, especially in the transport sector, no meaningful planning and efficient administration of the transport system will be achieved without a comprehensive data base.
He said other goals of the research include analyzing and assessing the overall performance of the national transport system, developing a general framework for the multi-modal transport projection, establishment of a national transport data bank and providing appropriate input for effective inter-modal transport coordination for the country. The project which has kicked is expected to be concluded before the end of the year.
Lagos Begins N170bn Rail Project
Lagos state government said the design of the long-awaited mass transit rail project has been completed, thus paving way for the construction of the project with immediate effect. It added that both the design and construction of the rail project would gulp the sum of $1.12 billion (equivalent of N170 billion), stating that it would take 36 months to complete the construction.
While inspecting facilities to kick-start the project recently at the premises of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) in Ebute-Meta, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) said Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) has set the stage to commence the construction phase of the project.
The governor said the first phase “will include the construction of the Blue Line which is expected to run a total distance of 27.552 kilometres from Okokomaiko to Marina and would be served by the stations.”
He said: “The project is expected to be delivered on August 2012 and provide jobs for about 4,000 Nigerians during the construction phase alone.” He expressed optimism that the contractors would deliver within the stipulated period.
Speaking further, Fashola said that “the project when completed would go a long way to make transportation faster, convenient and more efficient. It is a winner for Nigeria and Lagos State. It will improve the quality of life in our nation and help transport good and services. Nigerians working in London in the underground rail system have spoke to me that want to come back home and run an efficient rail system”.
Concerning the Red Line, the governor explained that the state government “is waiting for the approval of the Federal Government to use its corridor to link Iddo through Agbado and Ijoko in Ogun State. “We are waiting for the federal government to give us the go ahead to use their corridor. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with them and we just need them to fast-track a few things for us so that we can use that corridor,” he said.
He said the Iddo/Oyingbo way was under construction is nearing completion and when completed, will enable an extension of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from Mile 12 to Iddo. “We would continue to expand and when the Lagos Badagry is completed, there would also be a BRT service in that route”, he concluded.
The project manager of CCECC, Mr. Shi Stone, who conducted the governor round the facilities assured that they were ready to begin construction, adding that they have acquired all necessary equipment to kick start the construction process.
The project is part of the World Bank assisted projects in the state expected to run at 100km/h. The rail project 28km long with a viaduct length of 7.75km, a coastal elevated track length of 3.047 kilometre and a 610 metre-long sea crossing bridge
2nd Niger Bridge: House Demands Revocation of PPP
The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Government to take urgent steps to revoke the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in the construction of the second Niger Bridge and has also directed its Committees on Works and Appropriation to make adequate budgetary provisions for the construction of the bridge in the 2010 Appropriation Act. The motion for the resolutions was moved by Hon. Cyril Maduabum, member representing Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency of Anambra State.
Maduabum had argued that in spite of House Resolution, HR.35/2008 of 9th July, 2008 where the House urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, commence the construction of the Second Niger Bridge”, the project was yet to take off.
Pressing for the immediate award of the contract for the bridge to a competent contractor, Maduabum said that the old bridge was constructed over 44 years ago and was at the verge of collapse and a danger to motorists since it had become inadequate for the volume of traffic it now carries.
The proposed Second Niger Bridge project was conceived at the initial cost of N56 billion as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project where the Federal Government would contribute 20 per cent, Anambra State Government, 10 per cent; Delta State Government 10 per cent, while the private sector – led by the proposed contractor - would contribute 60 per cent.
But now, Maduabum told the House, the PPP structure arrangement could not work because Anambra and Delta States have backed out of the project due to budgetary constraints, revealing that even the contractors have not yet moved to site as the concession contract has not yet been signed and their contributions not yet received.
According to the initial funding plans of the PPP, the Federal Government made provisions for the Design and construction of the Second Niger Bridge in the 2008 (N4Billion), in 2009 (N4 billion) and in 2010 (N5.5 billion), but all the appropriated funds so far had been returned to the treasury for lack of take off of the project.
The House unanimously agreed that given the magnitude of work required to be done with respect to the Second Niger Bridge it can only be effectively undertaken by the Federal Government. It therefore urged the Ministry of Works and Housing to award the contract for the construction of the bridge immediately to a competent contractor considering the complexity of the project.
