From Yakubu Mustapha Minna
The Niger state Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP 2), State Project Coordinator, Hassan Baba Etsu has said that N3 billion was set aside for the construction of 700 kilometers rural roads across the state in which 176km have been completed while others are at various stages of completion.
He said this yesterday while interacting with members of the Niger state Media Strategy saying that the state has exceeded the target of 500km roads set by Word Bank and AFD, the donors of the fund.
He explained that the progress of the construction of the roads was made possible by prompt payment of counterpart funds by the administration of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, adding that the state government had earlier released counterpart funds of over one billion naira.
He stated that RAMP has also the expended about two billion naira on the construction of rural roads spread across the three senatorial zones of the state adding that another one billion naira has also been spent on the construction of 30 river crossings including bridges and convents.
The Coordinator hinted that 200 people have been recruited from host communities and trained to maintain the roads while 16 civil engineering graduates were employed to supervise the construction works on the projects.
