By Benard Akoma
Before embarking on the recent trip to China by President Bola Tinubu, the minister of works, Engr. David Umahi had disclosed that among other things, the trip was to make arrangement for the implementation of what he described as “the road infrastructure Architectural master plan, strategic for economic stimulation, apperantly designed by the federal minister of works.”
According to a release by the Special Adviser, Media, to the honourable minister of Works, Barrister Uchenna Orji, Senator Umahi revealed this during a visit to the governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed before the China Trip. Umahi told the Bauchi governor that the trip was “part of the economic stimulus plans of the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
The minister of works used the opportunity to inform his host that the Federal Ministry of Works has designed what he called, “the fourth Renewed Hope road infrastructure legacy project that passes through States of the North East known as the Akwanga – Jos – Bauchi – Gombe road.”
The visit to Bauchi, the report maintained was to let the governor know about the government plans to include every part of the country in its infrastructural policy plans, saying, “the shortfall in terms of road distribution was not done by President Tinubu, it wasn't done by me, but Mr. President is addressing it, and that's why we have injected the fourth legacy project of the President that runs from Akwanga to Jos to Bauchi State.”
Emphasizing the importance of the fourth Renewed Hope legacy projects, the minister said, “it was not only strategic in terms of seamless connectivity to the 6 Geo-Political Zones, but also a strategic architectural masterplan that would stimulate the economy of the Nation through enhanced agriculture, job creation, regional integration, tourism, transportation ecosystem and industralisation.”
The Bauchi visit, afforded the minister the opportunity to assure the governor of federal government readiness to execute the project. According to him, the President is determined to ensure that funding was made available for the legacy projects through different intervention mechanisms.” Among such intervention mechanisms, he said is the “the President’s plan to take us to China, because there was an agreement before, when this project was listed for funding on EPC + F, and the Chinese people were supposed to inject foreign financing on the roads, but they didn't immediately do that.”
He concluded that, “the President is reviving it, and we will be in China soon and we are very sure that we'll be able to get that funding, and this road will not only be constructed, but it will also be dualized,” the minister assured.
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