The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has said the Federal Government has approved N100 billion for the completion of Sections 1 to 4 of the East West Road project.
Pst. Usani who disclosed this at a meeting with the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), led by its National Chairman, Dr. Benjamin Tamaranebi, added that the China Export-Import Bank (Chexim) had also agreed to support the construction of Section 5 of the East West Road from Oron to Calabar with $500m, while the Federal Government would pay counterpart funding.
It would be recalled that the findings from a presidential inter-ministerial team on assessment tour of Sections 1 to 4 of the East West Road from Warri in Delta State to Oron in Akwa Ibom State in 2018 showed that contractors would require about N100bn to complete the four sections of the flagship project in the Niger Delta.
The minister said the submission from the committee culminated in the said approval of the fund.
Usani further disclosed that the Federal Government was at the verge of awarding the contract with a new design.
He added that the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) was to monitor the completion of Sections 1 to 4 of the road, saying the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs had given its nod to the directive of the presidency that the N100bn should be paid directly to the contractors from the Federation Account.
He also revealed that the Federal Government had also directed that the gas flare penalty fine being requested by the host communities be released to them.
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