2nd Niger Bridge Will Be Completed On Schedule – FG
Jeremiah Kusoro
Julius Berger-Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, consortium and the contractors handling the 2nd Niger Bridge, have promised to complete the project on schedule.
In a statement signed by the Managing Directors of Julius Berger and the NSIA, Messrs Wolfgang Goetsch and Uche Orji, respectively, in Abuja, yesterday, they described as false reports that there were plans to abandon the
project, which was launched by President Goodluck Jonathan recently.
The statement denied reports that work on the project was suspended due to non-compliance with environmental laws .
“Julius Berger-NSIA consortium wishes to clarify that reports suggesting that work on the bridge has been suspended due to non-compliance of environmental laws represent inaccurate and misconstrued information.
“Contrary to recent reports, work on the second River Niger Bridge project continue to progress according to schedule, to ensure timely completion of the bridge, which is set to be executed under the Public Private
Partnership, PPP, arrangement for a concessional period of 25 years through the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer, DBFOT, model.
“The consortium also highlights that compliance with Nigerian Environmental Laws continue to be deemed a paramount priority and that Environment Impact Assessment, EIA, is an intrinsic part of the project, which is carried out in compliance with the environmental laws that govern Nigeria and in collaboration with the relevant ministries.”
The cost of the project was negotiated down from N138,530,896,346.72 to N117,860,700,741.82 (VAT inclusive) and certified by Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP. Of this amount, the Federal Government will be contributing N30 billion as its equity participation in the project.