Budget: FG to spend N837bn on 2,254 roads, bridges

The Federal Government is planning to rehabilitate and construct 1,925 roads and highways across the country in the 2024 budget proposal’

The government also allocated N548.56b for roads construction in 2024, with the East-West and Benin-Akure roads getting N2bn and N3.75bn respectively.

This is however separate from the N288.44bn allocated for the modernisation of 329 roads and bridges in the 2023 supplementary budget.

If road projects in the supplementary budget are added to those in the 2024 budget proposal, it means the government is expected to spend N837bn on 2,254 roads and bridges in the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years.

The road projects to be executed under the Ministry of Works also indicated the provision of N1.05bn for the removal of overgrown vegetation on some federal roads.

An analysis of the 2024 budget christened, “Budget of Renewed Hope”, showed that the ministry allocated N3.19bn for the purchase of 50 motor vehicles.

Some of the road projects to be constructed include the rehabilitation of Kabba- Ayere- Isua- Ipele road in Kogi and Ondo states at the cost of N2.14bn, as well as the construction of Ikot Ekpene border Aba-Owerri dual road at the cost of N1bn. Also, the dualisation of Lagos- Otta road will gulp N1bn while N8.2bn was provisioned for the counterpart funding of the Lafia bypass and 9th mile Enugu- Makurdi road.

The Kano-Maiduguri Road Section IV, Potiskum-Damaturu Road got an allocation of N2.1bn, while the dualisation of Aba-Ikot Ekpene road in Abia/ Akwa Ibom states was allocated N1.41bn; the construction of Ikot Ekpene border-Aba – Owerri dualisation got the sum of N1.01bn, while the rehabilitation of Odukpani junction -Akpet central section -Ikom-Ogoja road in Cross River State got N1.1bn.

The budget also made provisions for the construction of culverts and drainage in flood-prone areas on federal roads in the South-East zone at the cost of N3.03bn; N10.7bn for the counterpart funding for the expansion of the Abuja-Keffi carriageway while the rehabilitation of three sections of the Lokoja-Abuja road got N6bn, dualisation of Suleja-Minna road phase II in Niger State got N500m.

A similar provision of N3.031bn was made for culverts and drains at flood-prone areas of the federal road network in the North West zone, while the rehabilitation of Shagamu road in Lagos State will gulp N1.3bn. The rehabilitation of the access road to Apapa/Tin can Island Port/NNPC depot got a budgetary allocation of N143.5m.