The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment towards the construction and renovation of 37 bridges across the country.
The targeted bridges are; the Lagos Third Mainland Bridge, the second Niger Bridge, the Ikom Bridge in Cross River and the Muritala Mohammed Bridge in Koton-Karfe in Kogi State.
Others include the Tatabu Bridge linking Niger and Kwara States, the Isaac Boro Bridge in Port Harcourt and the Tamburawa Bridge in Kano State.
A senior government official disclosed this to The Guardian, stressing that the Loko-Oweto Bridge across Benue River is now 97 per cent completed.
It was learned that when fully completed, the 1.8-kilometre bridge would link the northern and southern parts of the country across Benue River, thus reducing the travel time.
The official also stated that President Muhammadu Buhari last year virtually inaugurated the 326-kilometre Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line, which has suffered a setback in the last 30 years.
According to him, it is expected that close to one million passengers and 3.5 million tons of freight will be conveyed along the rail line yearly.
He stressed that passenger service has also commenced on the Lagos-Ibadan railway, ahead of the project’s inauguration this month.
“The Lagos-Ibadan rail line is a double-track standard gauge rail, the first of its kind in West Africa, and the first leg of the Lagos to Kano rail line.
“ Block by block, President Buhari is reviving and modernising the rail sector for a better conveyance of passengers and goods in order to boost the nation’s economy,” he stated.
The Federal Government, he said, has also completed and inaugurated the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu for scheduled flights adding that the rehabilitation of the runway and other associated works were executed in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
On power infrastructure, he said the perennial power problem in the country would soon become a thing of the past following an agreement with Siemens in July 2019 to boost power supply in Nigeria.
According to him, under the three-phase agreement, Nigerians will enjoy 7,000 megawatts of reliable power supply by the end of 2021 (phase 1), 11,000 megawatts by the end of 2023 (phase II) and 25,000 megawatts in the third phase.
