By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Federal Government has awarded the contract of the 2nd Niger Bridge to Messrs Julius Berger-NSIA Consortium, at the construction cost of about N117 billion naira.
President Goodluck Jonathan disclosed this yesterday during the ground breaking ceremony of the 2nd Niger Bridge at Onitsha.
He said, “The government is executing this project under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for a concession period of 25 years, precisely, through a ‘Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT)’ model. We are confident in the capacity and competence of the Concessionaire, Messrs Julius Berger.
“To facilitate timely delivery, the federal government has made a commitment to contribute 25% of the construction cost, in the sum of N30 Billion”, he said.
The President added that the 2nd Niger Bridge would deepen national integration and also enhance economic and social interaction among other parts of the country and the South-East.
“On completion, this Bridge, which is being constructed almost 50 years after the existing Bridge opened to traffic, will alleviate the pains experienced by travelers as a result of congestion of the old Bridge, particularly during festive periods. It will massively improve road transportation in the South-East of Nigeria, and also reduce travel times substantially, in this part of the country”, President Jonathan said.
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