Skip to main content

Planning works start for a second Niger Bridge

The Federal Government of Nigeria gave the go-ahead for work to start on the planning and design of a new Niger bridge. The country’s leaders have approved a US$2 million (Nigerian Naira N325 million) “transactional advisory services” contract to assess how to design and build, finance and operate a “Second Niger Bridge.” Contractor Roughton International Limited has been given 16 months to come back with a detailed schedule of how to progress.
August 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The Federal Government of Nigeria gave the go-ahead for work to start on the planning and design of a new Niger bridge.

The country’s leaders have approved a US$2 million (Nigerian Naira N325 million) “transactional advisory services” contract to assess how to design and build, finance and operate a “Second Niger Bridge.” Contractor 6395 Roughton International Limited has been given 16 months to come back with a detailed schedule of how to progress.

At the same meeting, the Nigerian government also gave Roughton International the green light on a $1.9 million (N297 million) consultancy contract for a new road into Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport.

The “Second Niger Bridge” project is likely to be built using a public-private partnership arrangement said the country’s minister of works, Mike Onolememen, at the end of this week’s weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by president Goodluck Jonathan. The minister told local reporters that he “expected” that “ground-breaking” work would “start by the third quarter of 2013.”

According to Onolememen, “the Federal Government” is keen to “address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and improve the quality of public infrastructure services.” The public-private approach will be used to speed up this process he said, and the country will exploit “private sector investment” opportunities in order “to complement the drive towards bridging the country’s enormous infrastructure gap.”

“In view of this,” he added, “the Second Niger Bridge - which is a critical national infrastructure project – will form an essential link between the south west and south east (of Nigeria) and connect the cities of Onitsha and Asaba.”

The government has also decided to act on the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road plan because the current highway is in a “deplorable condition” and it wants to create a new and much more impressive “gateway to Nigeria and Lagos.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Slovakia: early 2017 restart for work on the Cebrat Tunnel
    May 27, 2016
    Roman Brecely, Slovakia’s transport minister, has said that construction of the 2km long motorway tunnel Cebrat near Ruzomberok could be resumed at the beginning of 2017. But the cost is expected to increase by around €100 million. He added that the government likely will seek European Union funding. Construction was halted a year ago over concerns about the possibility of landslides and other geological issues. For this reason, the tunnel route may alter and be an additional 1.5km longer. The tunn
  • The world’s longest suspension bridge
    June 24, 2024
    The world’s longest suspension bridge is the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey. This engineering marvel links Gelibolu with Lapseki, forming a key section of the 101km highway linking Malkara with Çanakkale. *Article produced in partnership with the General Directorate of Highways (KGM), Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Republic of Türkiye.
  • Upgrades to start on Bromsgrove A38 corridor
    August 14, 2023
    UK government commits €50 million for work on the 6.5km stretch of the A38 in England.
  • Rajasthan Mega Highways boost trade, tourism
    February 17, 2012
    Rajasthan is one of the most favoured tourist destinations of India for both domestic and international traffic on account of its rich array of historical forts, palaces, art and culture.