President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the Federal Government needs about N485 trillion for the implementation of the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), which is to be achieved in three phases.
Jonathan sated this in Abuja yesterday during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, adding that the plan would be implemented over a period of 30 years from 2014 to 2043.
He explained that the first five years phase between now and 2018 will require $166.1 billion for implementation.
The plan will, among other things, address the lack of linkages in the infrastructure sector. It focuses on core infrastructure, including energy (power and oil and gas), transport (roads, rail, ports and airports), housing, water and Information and Communication Technology. Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil, alongside the Ministers of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, National Planning, Abubakar Sulaiman and Transport, Idris Umar, recalled that Jonathan had in July 2012, approved that the National Planning Commission (NPC) coordinate the preparation of NIIMP for the country.
Other infrastructure classes include agriculture, mining, social infrastructure, vital registration and security.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has blacklisted a contractor who is alleged to have abandoned an electricity project in Ebonyi State. And to serve as deterrent to others, government has also concluded plans to retrieve the 15 per cent contract sum already paid, adding that it has also blacklisted the directors of the company and as such cannot start up any other company in the country.
The contracting firm, Messrs Techno Electric and Engineering Company, had on December 1, 2010 collected a 15 per cent mobilisation fee from the Federal Government and later abandoned the project.
Speaking further on the abandoned power project, Wakil said government has re-awarded the contract for the engineering design, manufacture, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 2X60MVA, 132/33KV at Amasiri and 2X132KV Line Bays Extension at Abakaliki to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Council approved the re-award of the contract in favour of Messrs North China Power Engineering Limited and NCEP (Nig) Limited in the sum of $5,835,368.47 payable at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of payment plus N505,788,083.58 inclusive of N67,211,298.58 for 5 per cent contingency with a completion period of 24 months.
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