FG invests over $1bn on 2nd Niger bridge, Lagos-Ibadan expressway, others

Chinazor Megbolu

The Federal Government has said that it was  investing over $1 billion on three flagship projects in the country, which are namely; the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano expressway.

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said this during the 51st annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) held in Abuja, saying the FG had been intervening in critical sectors in order to boost the economy.

Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of State for Works and Housing; said: “On roads, the government created the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund, investing over a billion dollars in three flagship projects: the Lagos-lbadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway.

“The government also approved Executive Order 7, which essentially mobilises private investment through a tax credit scheme to encourage the private sector to invest in road construction for tax rebates.

“Similarly, the implementation of the Highway Development and Management Initiative is ongoing. This is a PPP (Public Private Partnership) programme to mobilise, at first, over a trillion naira in private investment for the development and maintenance of 1,963km of 12 roads”.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, in his address, noted that the development of critical infrastructures such as the provision and maintenance of new roads and bridges, airports, rail infrastructure, among others, had salutary impacts on the real estate sector.

Represented by Aisha Mohammed, an official of the Ministry, he said: “It is therefore in realisation of this fact that the Federal Government has taken deliberate steps to bridge our infrastructural deficit, which is estimated to be in excess of N15 trillion”.

Fashola pointed out that the federal government understood that real estate development was based on land and was making conscious efforts with respect to the accessibility, affordability and security of land and titles.

“Between July 2018 and May 2021, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has processed and issued 4,628 Certificates-of-Occupancy and 2,230 consents to secondary land transactions,” Fashola said.

The President and Chairman of Council, NIESV, Mr. Okas Wike, in his remarks, sought for improvement in the security situation across Nigeria.

He explained further that this was having a severe negative impact on the real estate sector as well.