The Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved the takeover of the construction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway by telecommunication giant, MTN at over N203bn.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said this to State House correspondents on Wednesday shortly after this week’s council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the minister, the road construction is under the road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme and the approval followed Executive Order 7 signed by the President in January 2019.
Fashola pointed out that the takeover would enable the telecom giant to complete the dualisation of the 110-kilometre road.
He added that under the same scheme, the FEC approved the Umuchi-Ususu-Umueme Road in Abia State for construction by GZ Industries at N4.2bn.
He said: “The Ministry of Works and Housing presented two memoranda and they are largely PPP-based memoranda. On January 25, 2019, specifically, President Buhari approved Executive Order 7, which was the road infrastructure tax credit scheme, to allow the private sector to invest tax liabilities in advance in infrastructure, and that policy has helped us to finance roads like or by Obajana to Kaba, Apapa-Oshodi, Oshoki-Ojota Expressway, the Bodo-Bonni expressway in Port Harcourt, about 1000 kilometres covering 21 roads under the NNPC investment. So, there is an increased optic for that policy. Today, we have two more.
“The first that was approved is the one by MTN Nigeria Plc to take over and complete the ongoing Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. That road is 110 kilometres, which is being dualised. So, you have 110 kilometres times two.”