Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State inaugurated the dualisation of an 11-kilometre federal road in Ningi Local Government Area of the state on Saturday.
The project costs N10.3 billion, according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Speaking at the inauguration, Mohammed said the road was important to the people of Ningi Emirate and to commuters going to and from Kano and Jigawa states and the entire Northwest.
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The governor said the project would significantly transform the lives of thousands of residents of the state when completed.
He added that it would also provide essential infrastructure to ameliorate difficulties faced by people in the area who faced challenges in transporting their agricultural produce to markets.
Mohammed said also that during construction, the project would create direct jobs for engineers, labourers, artisans and indirectly for food vendors, suppliers, transporters and many others in the construction value chain.
“As a federal road, the project will be jointly supervised by engineers of the state’s Ministry of Works and Transport and those of the Federal Ministry of Works.
“We have already obtained the approval of the Federal Government to construct this road.
“We wanted the Federal Government to do it, but we are too anxious; we cannot wait for its as we are not looking for a refund, but if we are able to get a refund, , we will be happy,’’ the governor said.
He called on the contractor to adhere strictly to specifications and to complete the project on schedule, adding that arrangements had been concluded to pay 30 per cent mobilisation fee.
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The governor also urged the benefiting community to cooperate with the contractor to ensure successful and speedy execution of the project.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Commissioner for Works and Transportation, Mr Ibrahim Galadima, highlighted some components of the project to include 7.3 metres width of carriageway and two metres of road shoulder.
In his vote of thanks, Emir of Ningi, Alhaji Yunusa Danyaya, appreciated the governor for making his dream about the road a reality.
He promised to ensure maximum cooperation of the people of the local government with the contractor for effective and successful execution of the project.
