TheCable

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved an additional N14 billion for the construction of the Kano western bypass road.

The council gave the approval on Wednesday at a meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, said the approved N14 billion was a budget augmentation for the Kano western bypass, awarded to Dantata and Sawo Construction Company.

With this, the budget for the road project was raised from N22 billion to N36.89 billion.

Fashola said the contract was inherited from previous administrations but added that the Muhammadu Buhari administration was determined to complete it.

“The ministry of works and housing presented a council memo to get approval for the augmentation of the contract price for the completion of the Kano Western bypass, which we inherited. The project had essentially not been funded in previous budget years.

“We are now executing it by the Sukuk bond. Council considered and approved the augmentation, which was for N14.095 billion. Some of the items covered by the augmentation include the old amount for value-added tax (VAT), which was increased from 5 to 7.5 percent.

“Others are the need to construct a flyover at Dawano International Market interchange and also the need to construct more hydraulic facilities to help drain water, especially in the parts of the road that pass through the city centres and towns, and the council approved this.”

The minister added that when completed, the road will link the Kano-Maiduguri highway.

He also said the ministry sought and got the council’s approval to use the funds approved for the construction of a trailer park along the Enugu-Port Harcourt highway to complete the main carriageway.

“This is because of the litigation we are facing from the communities where the trailer park is to be located, whose land was acquired for the construction of the park. In order not to delay the completion of the main carriageway and also in order to optimise today’s pricing, we sought approval, and the council approved that based on the recommendation of the Bureau for Public Procurement,” Fashola explained.