TheCable

The federal government says it is undertaking a total of 854 highway contracts worth N7.43 trillion across the six geo-political zones in the country.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, said this on Wednesday when he appeared before the house of representatives’ committee on works to defend the ministry’s budget.

He explained that the projects were expected to be financed through the Presidential Infrastructure Fund, Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme (RIDRITCS), the sovereign sukuk fund and multilateral loans.

He said the focus of the 2022 budget was on completion of some priority road projects, especially those on route A1-A9.

Route A1-A9 are roads and bridges that lead to the ports and major agricultural hubs attracting vehicles carrying heavy goods in the zones.

“In view of the wide disparity between the actual 2022 indicative cost of execution of highway projects of N1,384,622,535,379.62 and the actual budget envelope of N282,636,433,510.69, the prioritisation of funding in the 2022 budget becomes imperative in order to make an appreciable impact,” Fashola said.

“Accordingly, the focus of the 2022 Budget proposals of the Ministry is on completion of some priority road projects, especially those on Route A1-A9.

“Secondly, the Ministry has identified some strategic road projects that have already attained some appreciable percentage completion and slated them for completion within the period 2021-2023.”

Presenting the ministry’s N450 billion 2022 budget proposal, Fashola said from the total amount, N382 billion was for capital expenditure; N627 billion was for overhead and N10 billion was for personnel cost.