FEC okays N115.4b, $328.87m for Katsina highway, railway

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved N115.4 billion for the dualisation of the proposed Kano-Kazaure-Kongolam highway in Katsina State from single carriageway to a dual carriageway.

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who briefed newsmen at the end of the council’s meeting yesterday in Abuja, explained that the project, which covers 131.4 kilometres, is to be completed within 48 months.

His Transportation counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, said he presented two memos, which had to do with the contract for sundry consultancy services for the supervision of the various railway projects in the country.

“Remember that we have about three railway projects that are yet to start construction and they include the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, Kano-Maradi and then the Abuja-Warri,” he noted.

Continuing, the minister said the consultancy services were approved at the cost of $183.7 million for the Abuja-Warri railway.

“For the consultancy services for supervision of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway, with branch lines to Bonny Deep Seaport and Port Harcourt Industrial Park and then to Owerri. We have Kyari Consults SDMBHD/Jamood Global Services Limited at $97.5 million. The first one is $38.4 million.

“Consultancy services for the supervision of Kano-Katsina-Jibia-Maradi Rail-line to TEAM (Technics Engineering Architecture Marketing Nigeria Limited) and that is for $47,670,000,” the minister said.

All of them are for a period of 36 months.

“The second one is that the cabinet approved a concessionaire agreement for the Ministry of Transportation to concession the Onitsha River Port to a company called Inversal Elysium Consortium. They are to manage the river port for 30 years,” Amaechi added.

Also briefing newsmen, Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, pointed out that the meeting equally sanctioned an energy transition plan for the country.

“This memo was presented as a plan for Nigeria to achieve net zero carbon emission, she explained, noting: “This will clearly set out the pathway for Nigeria in achieving this.”

Ikeazor added that FEC also approved a second memo to aid the Waste Battery Management Policy for Nigeria.

The document, according to her, “will create a lot of jobs in the circular economy for Nigeria and at the same time, protect the health of Nigerians to make sure that hazardous waste like waste batteries are properly disposed of with regulations, including recycling.”

Minister of State for Health, Olorunimbe Mamora, said council, during the closed-door, also endorsed the award of contract for consultancy services to facilitate the building of the corporate headquarters of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Abuja.

He observed: “The need has become inevitable to expand what is on ground to improve the operational efficiency of the agency.”