Abuja — The Federal Executive Council, FEC, chaired by the Vice President Namadi Sambo, yesterday, approved contracts worth N199.19 billion in various sectors of the economy.
Of this amount, road construction and rehabilitation across different geo-political zones of the country took the lion share of N176.13 billion while the construction of terminal building as well as control tower at the Yenagoa airport was approved at the cost of N13.91 billion while the reconstruction of the bombed United Nations Building in Abuja was approved for N5.2 billion.
The front office and first floor of the UN Building after the blast 2010.
Addressing State House correspondents at the end of council meeting, Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, said the council took cognizance of the onset of the dry season in awarding the contracts for road constructions while the construction of the United Nations Building in Abuja is in fulfillment of government’s earlier promise to foot the bill for the reconstruction of the bombed building.
The Information Minister, who was flanked by the Ministers of Works, Niger Delta Affairs and the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, also disclosed that council approved for the purchase of brand new Air Ambulance Cessna Ciation Sovereign Jet Aircraft (fully equipped and customized with emergency medical facilities) in the sum of $23,171,058.28, as the foreign currency content and N909,590,181.13 as the local currency content with a delivery period of 32 weeks.
Providing further explanation on the road contracts, Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, said council approved the dualisation of the Lokoja-Benin road in four slots. They include the Obajana-Okene at a total cost of N11,663,957,682.30 with a completion period of 24 months; Okene-Auchi at a cost of N11,086,276,140.36 with a completion period of 42 months; Auchi-Ehor at a cost of N11,659,588,909.69 and completion period of 40 months and Ehor-Benin at a cost of N11,679,997,440.71 with a completion period of 11 months.
Others include the Nguru-Gashua-Bayamari road, for N6,581,999,666.55, with a completion period of 18 months as well as the augmentation contract of N3,927,544,605.71 on the Ugep-Ikom-Ogoja-Katsina Ala in Cross River/Benue States with a completion period of 30 months which brings the contract sumto N9,136,126,840.71 from an initial figure of N5,208,582,235.00.
NAN