A 3-year plan has been rolled out by the Federal Government for Federal roads.
The plan will ensure that, within its time frame, major road projects are implemented fairly in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The revelation was made in a press release signed and issued by the Special Assistant (SA) to the minister on communications, Mr Hakeem Bello, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, after a meeting of the National Council on Works in Katsina State themed, “Prioritization and Optimization of Allocated Infrastructure Funds”.
The minister said the plan which will be implemented between 2017 and 2019 was already being shared with the ministry of budget and planning for inclusion in the 2017 budget and future national planning data.
Fashola pointed out that because the government’s resources were limited; it had to make choices which, according to him, border on priority and economic expediency.
The Minister said government would be guided in its choices by such factors as inputs from the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, who, according to him, have provided data of critical roads in each of the six zones that are necessary to help evacuate farm produce to market.
“Also roads leading to and from fuel depots will be high on the priority of choices because of the need to develop mining business and evacuate mining products and petroleum cargo to fuel the nation’s energy need,” he added.
He declared, “Therefore, while it is true that we cannot build all roads in one year or even in three years, we are convinced that a faithful implementation of our plan, and the rational basis of our choices will deliver a better road experience, improved journey times and aid economic recovery in the short to medium term”.
He also stated that government has also given priority to roads leading to and from the nation’s major sea and airports because of the need to support the business of traders and importers.
SEE ALSO: FG Has So Far Spent N73bn On Road Projects Nationwide – Fashola
