Nigeria loses N197bn annually to bad roads –Dangote
The President and Chief Executive
Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, says Nigeria loses
$1bn (about N197bn) annually due to poor condition of roads in the
country.
He said this on Friday during the
inauguration of the 24km Itori-Ibese Concrete Road in Ewekoro Local
Government Area of Ogun State, which his company constructed in
collaboration with a Brazilian construction company, Andrade Gutierrez.
Dangote said the decision to introduce
concrete roads in Nigeria was in line with what obtained in other parts
of the world. The businessman said apart from being about 25 per cent
cheaper than conventional asphalt roads, concrete roads last longer and
do not require frequent maintenance.
Dangote made reference to Marine Drive, a
popular concrete road in Mumbai, India, which was built in 1939, adding
that such roads have the capacity of saving about $3m on maintenance
cost annually.
The businessman said that the
construction of the road was conceived in 2014 to allow his heavy duty
trucks move from Ibese plant to other parts of the state and the
country.
According to him, he also got approval
from the Federal Government to construct Papalanto-Sagamu Road, which is
in a deplorable state.
He explained that the Ijora/Apapa- Wharf
Road in Lagos State, which is being reconstructed using concede cement
as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, would be
delivered before the end of the year.
He, however, appealed to the Minister of
Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), to assist in
completing the engineering design and preliminary works to ensure early
commencement of the road project.
On his own part, Fashola described the construction of concrete roads as a perfect way of adapting to climate change.
Fashola, who defended the investments of
the Federal Government in the budget of his ministries for 2016, said
less than N30bn was allocated to the three ministries in the previous
year.
He said that in the last three years,
contractors had not received any money from the government, which he
blamed for the deplorable condition of power, roads and housing in the
country.
The minister explained that the final
letter of award of the 42.5 kilometre Obajana-Kabba Road was signed on
Thursday and ready for pick-up by the company.
Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun,
lauded the company for the intervention, but sought its help and that of
the construction firm in the reconstruction of other roads that are in
deplorable condition in the state, using concrete.
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