The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, has revealed that $35 billion is required from the Federal Government to initiate concrete road construction across the nation.
Umahi made this known on Tuesday during a meeting with Minister of Steel Development, Shuaib Audu, held at the Ministry of Works headquarters in Abuja.
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The meeting was a brainstorming session between the two ministers on how to tap into the opportunities the Ajaokuta Steel Plant presents for the development of concrete road infrastructure in Nigeria.
Umahi further emphasized that the defunct Ajaokuta steel company would play a major role in the road infrastructure development plan by providing more than 16% of the materials needed for the construction of Nigerian roads in concrete pavement.
The press statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Orji Uchenna, on Tuesday, as seen on the website of the Ministry of Works, further disclosed that both ministries’ decision to collaborate on executing the Federal Government’s action plans for national development would create jobs and wealth for Nigeria’s population, as well as create a global market and encourage industrialisation.
“How do we reactivate Ajaokuta Steel? We are going into the concrete road. In this concrete road, about 16 percent of it is steel, while 30 percent is cement.
“We need a lot of money to start, but we decided to face it, and God has given us an idea: we need about 35 billion dollars to start. If we start waiting for FG, it might become difficult.
“We did return on investment (ROI); the profit we could have made, part of it will go to bank interest. We are looking at a commercial bank, but the Federal Executive Council has to endorse it. If this could be done, it means Mr. President is actually living up to his words, and this is going to be possible,” Umahi explained.
Also, the Minister of Steel Development revealed that the Federal Government has plans to resume steel production at the Ajaokuta Steel Plant soon.
Audu further disclosed that the Ajaokuta Steel Plant would be responsible for producing a substantial quantity of steel wrought for the over 30,000 kilometers of roads the Federal Government is looking to develop nationwide.
“My mission is a wonderful one. I had a fantastic meeting initiated by the Hon. Minister of Works. We are seriously thinking outside the box to see how we can implement the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.
“What we came to discuss here is how to restart steel production at Ajaokuta Steel Plant. The Hon. Minister of Works has made it very clear that the Federal Government is looking to develop over 30,000 kilometers of road, and a large component of that will be from Steel wrought, and a percentage of that Steel wrought will be produced in Ajaokuta.
“We came to have a discussion on how to implement the process for producing it in Ajaokuta within the shortest possible time,” the Minister of Steel and Development explained.
Speaking on the potential benefits of the collaboration between the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Steel Development, Audu said it would provide the needed economic boost for the nation, generate revenue, and provide thousands of direct jobs for skilled and non-skilled technicians and hundreds of thousands of unskilled jobs in Nigeria.
In his words, “And we are to achieve two or three things: one, to create job opportunities for Nigerians as a whole; two, to ensure that the corridor around the North Central Zone and around the Ajaokuta Warri axis is busy with activities; and thirdly, the plant has been inactive for close to four decades, and we are here to restart the plant within the shortest possible time”.
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