TheCable

Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, says the first phase construction of the road leading from the seaport in Apapa to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Toll Gate will be completed before the end of December 2019.

Dangote was speaking during an inspection of the construction site with Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to the billionaire businessman, the 40-kilometre road will have a lifespan of 100 years upon completion.

In his remarks, Emefiele commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the executive order 7, which opened the opportunity for private companies to intervene in infrastructure.

He also advised corporate bodies in the country to take advantage of the presidential order to raise infrastructure bonds at concessionary rates to support the federal government in its desire to develop infrastructure in Nigeria.

Dangote and Emefiele at the inspection site

“It is a good thing for this country. When we talk about the Ease of Doing Business, you can imagine a situation whereby people have been complaining about the ease of transporting their goods out of the Apapa port,” he said during the inspection on Saturday.

While commending Dangote for taking the initiative, Emefiele expressed hope that the road would ease the traffic challenge on the route, particularly for trucks conveying cleared goods from the ports.

He further commended the Dangote Group for using local content, saying “this is 100 % local content. Alhaji Dangote uses his cement on this road, the rods I understand are coming from African Foundries that smelted waste steel, which is converted into iron bars and is being used for the road”.