75 companies bid for concession of 12 federal roads

Some 75 companies have submitted bids to take over 12 roads to be concessioned by the federal government.

The 12 corridors under the first phase of the Highway Development and Management Initiative are Benin–Asaba, Abuja–Lokoja, Onitsha–Aba–Owerri, Shagamu-Benin, Abuja – Keffi–Akwanga, Kano–Maiduguri, Kano – Katsina, Lokoja – Benin, Enugu – Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Abeokuta, and Lagos-Badagry.

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It comes after moves by the federal government for a concession to allow private groups maintain roads and build income-generating facilities under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

Works and housing minister Babatunde Fashola has called the move necessary as federal government faces a cash crunch to maintain more than 35,000 km stretch of federal roads across the country.

A statement by the Director Press and Pin Relations, Boade Akinola, said the bid which was conducted online was to ensure a transparent and fair competitive process.

“The portal was opened to receive submissions in line with existing guidelines. It was revealed that 75 companies successfully responded to the RfQ. The names and representatives of all the companies/consortiums were read out and duly recorded.”

The 12 pilot road corridors earmarked for concession are for the Value-Added Concession programme.

The Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Babangida Hussaini  vowed to ensure that the procurement process is in line with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) act and approved Public-Private partnership guidelines.

Hussaini further explained that every proponent who indicated interest and meet the basic prequalification criteria would be shortlisted and subsequently invited for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage.

Speaking on the initiative, the Head of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the Ministry, Abimbola Asein explained that the Highways Development & Management Initiative was created by the Ministry with the objective to attract sustainable investment and funding in the development of road infrastructure and maximize the use of assets along the right of way.

She explained that the rationale behind the private sector engagement was to provide an alternative funding source for road development and management, pointing that the Ministry was working jointly with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFB&NP) amongst other stakeholders to see to the realization of the project.

“The buy-in of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly had been obtained, and the nation is looking forward to a robust procurement process that will attract capable concessionaires that will develop and manage these routes.