Minister of Works, David Umahi, has restated that the construction of the tran-saharan highway by the federal government would boost commerce between the country and it’s neighbours in addition to curbing the menace of insecurity. Umahi made the assertion on Saturday in Abakaliki Ebonyi state capital while inspecting ongoing construction work on Section Two of... The post Tran-Saharan Highway’ll Boost Foreign Trade, Curb Insecurity – Umahi appeared first on New Telegraph .
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has restated that the construction of the tran-saharan highway by the federal government would boost commerce between the country and it’s neighbours in addition to curbing the menace of insecurity.
Umahi made the assertion on Saturday in Abakaliki Ebonyi state capital while inspecting ongoing construction work on Section Two of the highway in Ado Local Government Area, Benue.state.
He said that Section Two measuring approximately 173.4 kilometres, would connect Section One through Benue-Enugu and adjoining states.
According to him, “Section One runs for about 123 kilometres from Ebonyi to the Ebonyi-Benue boundary.”
The Minister said that the combined length of Sections One and Two would be within 300 kilometres.
“When communities are brought closer through road construction and states become more accessible, you can see the economic impact, if we complete this project, you will see significant improvements in security, agriculture, and commerce,” he said.
Umahi said the highway would facilitate the movement of agricultural produce from major farming areas in Benue, Ebonyi and Enugu to markets.
He said the federal government was also constructing by-pass, including the 8.9-kilometre Afikpo by,-pass in Ebonyi, which was being dualized.
The minister said the second carriageway of Section One was being designed to align with other legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
On funding, Umahi acknowledged financial challenges but assured that projects would continue based on available resources.
“There are challenges; we cannot have all the money to do all the projects at once, we will continue to do the much we can based on our available resources,” the minister said.
Umahi projected that the projects would be completed by 2031, subject to Tinubu’s re-election and continuity of the administration.
He appealed to host communities to cooperate with contractors by providing access to borrow pits and facilitating valuation of affected crops and properties.
“Nobody will touch your building unnecessarily; I want you to cooperate with us and show us the borrow pits, we will pay compensation where necessary,” Umahi added.
The minister commended the contractor for its commitment, noting that construction work was continuing despite the rainy season.
He urged Nigerians to appreciate the federal government intervention in communities that had previously lacked federal roads.
Umahi also canvassed support for Tinubu re-election snd other APC candidates stating that continuity was necessary to ensure completion of the projects.
