Emmanuel Addehin Abuja
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has inaugurated a committee on the implementation of cashless tolling system for Abuja-Keffi expressway and ‘dualisation’ of Keffi-Akwanga-Markurdi road.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony held at the ministry’s headquarters, Mabushi, Abuja, Umahi stated that the cashless tolling system was a strategic programme under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) aimed at promoting strong and sustainable transportation ecosystem.
He said: “This is one of the cardinal strategies of President Bola Tinubu towards realising the desires of our people in the road sector development. Recall that a point of Keffi-Akwanga-Markurdi was done on Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and funded up to 85 per cent by China Exim Bank, and the federal government paid 15 per cent counterpart funding and the job was executed satisfactorily by China Harbour Ltd.
“Part of the agreement is that they will toll the road and then recoup the money for the federal government to pay back the loan segment of the project,” a statement signed on behalf of the minister by his spokesman, Uchenna Orji, said yesterday.
Inaugurating the committee, the minister lauded Tinubu for what he described as the strategic economic recovery initiatives of the current administration, and expressed hope that the committee would leverage on ideals of the terms of reference handed to them to develop a robust implementation masterplan that would lead to the realisation of the economic and social objectives of the HDMI.
According to him, the HDMI has been institutionalised to ensure sustainable private sector investment and to improve the quality and quantity of the road assets in Nigeria with a view to propelling rapid economic development.
He tasked the committee on the terms of reference which among other things are to develop the cashless tolling system implementation framework and make appropriate recommendation as to the potentials of relief stations and good physical environment along the corridors.
It is also to proffer practical solutions to the challenges of implementing cashless toll collection in Nigerian environment.
Umahi said: “We must also, as part of the assignment, develop relief stations. Relief stations is what you see in overseas’ expressways, where you have a lot of stations where you have a supermarket, you have a small clinic, you have also security outfits, and a number of other facilities, including parks, wheel lorries, and vehicles park, and tow vans.
“The idea of Mr. President is that we should have a maximum of 10 minutes of response time on our highways, meaning that in the full development of this route, part of the assignment will be how we can install CCTV cameras, and also have solar light all through the entire route of the project.
“And so, we will be able to put security on our roads, and then we have a station at the relief centre, where they will stay and watch the vehicles, so that within 10 minutes of any incident along the route, the security people will be able to be there within 10 minutes response time. This is the idea of Mr. President, and for our major highways.”
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Head Public , Private Partnership (PPP) Unit, Federal Ministry of Works, Mrs. Nnennaya Ugwu-Chima stated that the inauguration was part of the statutory responsibilities of the ministry.
She added that the ministry has the mandate to attract private sector funding for the development and management of federal road network through the HDMI.
She said: “The HDMI is expected to, among others, bring order, accountability, and profitable entrepreneurship to the operations, management, and maintenance of Federal Highways.
“This is consistent with the provisions of the ICRC Establishment Act 2005; National Policy on Public-Private Partnership (N4P); Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy of August 2021 and Federal Highways Act CAP. 135, 1971, which grants the Honourable Minister of Works the power to administer tolls on federal highways.”
In her acceptance speech on behalf of the committee on the implementation of cashless tolling system, the Chairman of the committee, Ugwu-Chima, thanked the ministry of works for the opportunity to serve the nation in that capacity.
She noted the scope of the assignment, which she said was onerous and assured of profound commitment of the committee to the assignment given to them. She said: “As we all know, infrastructure is the root for development, and amongst the sectors of infrastructure, transportation is one of the most important sectors. Without transportation, things would slow down, and we need to open up roads everywhere as we all know that, particularly in Nigeria, transportation is one of the main means of movement for people, goods, animals and everything.”
The committee which comprises members drawn from the Federal Ministries of Works, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Justice as well as Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has the Head, PPP Federal Ministry of Finance, Jummai Katagum and the Head PPP Unit, Federal Ministry of Works, Mrs. Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya as Chairman and Secretary, respectively. The committee has within two weeks to submit its report.