TheCable

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved N32.4 billion for the “completion” of the national library headquarters in Abuja.

Goodluck Opia, minister of state for education, spoke on Wednesday while briefing journalists after the FEC meeting at the presidential villa.

The national library headquarters has been under construction since 2006 with the project gulping billions of naira.

Opia said the “revised” amount for the completion of the project which is about N32.4 billion has been approved by FEC.

“Federal ministry of education presented a memo for approval for the revised estimated total cost of the contract for the completion of the construction of the National Library of Nigeria headquarters building complex in Abuja. The revised estimated cost is N32.4 billion,” he said.

“The scope of work for the project includes the construction of a concrete structure consisting of 11 floors, two basement floors and eight upper floors for housing bookstore, locker rooms, bindery, printing press, restaurants, clinic, creches changing rooms exhibition hall, auditorium, cataloguing, general reference areas, legal deposits, office for the administration book stacks, reading areas, electronic data processing centre, library research and training centre public convenience and underground car pack furnishing as well as perimeter fencing, gates and gatehouses, internal roads, electrical and mechanical services, and other external works.”

Also speaking, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said FEC approved the sum of N1.398 billion for the completion of the second phase of the Uto bridge in Delta state.

The minister said the contract was awarded in 2006 but has yet to be completed, adding that the federal government was committed to finishing the project before the administration winds up.

“The first memo he (Babatunde Fashola, minister of works) presented today was a memo seeking approval for the revised estimated total cost of a contract for the completion of phase 2 of Uto bridge — 2.6-kilometer stretch in Ikenke, Delta state,” Mohammed said.

“This is an old project which we are committed to completing. I think the project was awarded in the year 2006, but we are committed to completing it — so today the FEC approved the sum of N1.398 billion to revise the contract from N4.435 billion to N5.835 billion inclusive of 7.5% VAT to ensure that we’re able to complete this project before we leave.”

He further said the Loko-Oweto bridge has been completed as well as the Ikom bridge.

“Our federal secretariats in Nasarawa, Awka, Bayelsa, and Zamfara states are also completed and the Zuba housing project (of) 700 apartments are also ready for commissioning,” he added.