The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Thursday that despite dwindling resources, the Federal Government was still committed to providing key infrastructure for the benefits of the people.
The Minister stated this at the inauguration of the Interchange Bridge and Inner Southern Expressway linking AYA in Asokoro to the Abuja city centre.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the projects were inaugurated by Mohammed and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Bello.
NAN reports that both ministers also inspected the newly completed bridge over Aso Villa Roundabout which terminated Murtala Muhammad Express Way (Kubwa Expressway) at the Asokoro end also in FCT.
Mohammed said that the projects were key to the change mantra of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration that “infrastructural investment is key to economic growth”.
“This administration is passionate about infrastructural development particularly roads.
“These projects will tremendously decongest traffic around Abuja and open up the city,” he said.
He said the projects were particularly significant coming at a time the city would be hosting two major international conferences – International Press Institute Conference and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Conference.
The FCT minister said that the Southern Expressway “is one of the major ancillary roads bringing traffic into the city which has been under construction for some time”.
He said the roads were clear manifestation of what the administration stood for in terms of using capital budget and funding for completion of critical infrastructure
“It is one of the priority roads that, when we came in as an administration, we realised that there was need for it to be completed.
“We also realise that funding for the project had been quite slow over the years.
“We therefore discussed with the contractors and agreed on specific milestones.
“We decided that there is need to complete the bridge which is the most critical aspect of the job.
“Over the last few months, we have been able to fund the contractor with over N2 billion and they were able to complete the road as well as the linkage from AYA roundabout’’, he said.
The Minister said that the Aso Villa roundabout bridge was completed within a year.
The Director of Engineering, FCTA, Hadi Shehu, who took the two ministers and their entourage round said the projects would give relief to the gridlock being experienced by commuters from Nyanyan-Karu axis into the town
Specifically, he said the road which would be opened for traffic immediately traversed and linked three major arteries in the city (NAN).