The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said that the federal government will require a total of N1.7 trillion to complete about 206 road projects it awarded in the past.
Fashola said however that what was earmarked in the 2016 budget for the three ministries under him is N433 billion, adding that the ministry had decided to phase the road projects and complete them over the next three years, starting from high priority roads.
Speaking in Lagos at the African Alliance’s 2016 Investor Day Dinner, Fashola said as a way of overcoming the challenges in sustainable road infrastructure development, the government has upgraded the budget to finance infrastructure from 15 per cent which he said was the situation in the past to 30 per cent.
“This is the first step to sustainability. But it is not enough to budget. It is important to implement the budget and use the finances properly.
“Today, with about 206 road contracts already awarded in the past and not completed, it does not make sense to start any new roads when the amount needed to complete is about N1.7 trillion and the budget for the three ministries is N433 billion as proposed by the Executive.”
He said that the priority of his ministry is to finish as many already awarded road projects as possible. [myad]
