Government approves 370m dollars for fourth phase of Onne Port

Namadi Sambo
Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Government approves 370m dollars for fourth phase of Onne Port
Lawan Hamidu, Abuja

The Nigerian government has approved over 370 million US Dollars for the development of the fourth Phase of Onne Port in Rivers State.

This was part of the decisions reached during the meeting of the Federal Executive Council in Abuja.

State House Correspondent Lawan Hamidu reports that the meeting, presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, also discussed efforts to improve power transmission.

Listen to the report: 

Meanwhile, Vice President Namadi Sambo, has expressed government’s readiness to ensure the completion of all on-going projects, particularly those in the key sectors of the nation’s economy, which include power, transportation, education and agriculture.

The Vice President reiterated this position when he received a brief on the progress of work on the Implementation of the Nigerian Railway Projects across the country.

Proper Fiscal Planning

The Vice President stated that “the lack of feasible and sustainable budgetary planning for financing project was often-times the cause of failure to implementation”. He added that “this practice was not just unprofessional but must be discontinued forthwith.”

Sambo, a certified Architect himself, demanded for the actual plan of work on the project. He advised the contractors to ensure that the 27 bridges to be constructed along the Abuja-Kaduna stretch of roads in the northern part of the country were properly spread, to avoid direct cross paths between the speed train tracks and highways pedestrian paths, to minimise accidents.

He also gave a directive that all documentations on demands necessary to facilitate the fast-tracking of the projects as well as detailed designs and costing be submitted without further delay.

This, he stressed, was to enable the Federal Government estimate the actual cost of funding the entire project.

Funding Challenge

Earlier, the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, informed the Vice President that the projects were in two segments – modernization and rehabilitation.

According to the Minister, funding remained the most challenging facet in completing the projects.

Williams/Hajia Sani