FG invests N2.8 trillion on roads- Director
The Federal Government is carrying out several road projects worth 2.8 trillion ND throughout the country, said Mr. Chukwunwike Uzo, Director of Roads, Planning and Development of the Federal Ministry of Energy, Public Works and Housing.
Uzo announced it in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the projects are being funded in part by the Sukuk bonus product.
NAN recalls that, in 2017, the Federal Government collected 100 billion dollars from Sukuk to finance 25 selected highway projects in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The director explained that the government is financing road projects outside Sukuk for an amount of N1.8 billion, while the real cost of the 25 highway projects financed by Sukuk was N1 billion.
"The total sum of the contract for all 25 road projects financed by Sukuk is around 1 billion NL and this means that the 100 million N100 raised through Sukuk can not complete the projects.
"What is happening now is that the Sukuk fund is being deployed in certain areas of the 25 roads that have been identified.
"This means that in a 100-kilometer road, for example, it could be five or 10 kilometers that Sukuk's allocation could be addressed for that specific project and not all of the dualization work.
"If you add the costs of N1.8 billion from other projects outside of Sukuk, you will reach N2.8 billion of projects that are being undertaken by the ministry," he said.
He said that $ 57 billion had been disbursed to contractors who handled the road projects financed by Sukuk from the $ 100 billion raised.
Uzo said that the extraordinary N47 billion would be disbursed based on the work done by the contractors.
"The money is there, if the contractors had completed their work, we would have already exhausted the N100 billion."
The director said that the Sukuk fund, obtained from the capital market, had certain rules that guide its disbursement.
He said the fund had trustees who oversee its disbursement on behalf of the investors and project monitoring consultants who work for the trustees to assess the amount of work that is being done.
"For each payment certificate, project monitoring consultants should go in conjunction with the ministry's supervisory staff and contractors to measure and agree on the amount of work performed.
"Then quantify it in terms of certification monitoring before sending it to the ministry and then to the Debt Management Office, so it's not like a normal capital allocation of the Federation Account," he added.
Uzo announced it in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the projects are being funded in part by the Sukuk bonus product.
NAN recalls that, in 2017, the Federal Government collected 100 billion dollars from Sukuk to finance 25 selected highway projects in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The director explained that the government is financing road projects outside Sukuk for an amount of N1.8 billion, while the real cost of the 25 highway projects financed by Sukuk was N1 billion.
"The total sum of the contract for all 25 road projects financed by Sukuk is around 1 billion NL and this means that the 100 million N100 raised through Sukuk can not complete the projects.
"What is happening now is that the Sukuk fund is being deployed in certain areas of the 25 roads that have been identified.
"This means that in a 100-kilometer road, for example, it could be five or 10 kilometers that Sukuk's allocation could be addressed for that specific project and not all of the dualization work.
"If you add the costs of N1.8 billion from other projects outside of Sukuk, you will reach N2.8 billion of projects that are being undertaken by the ministry," he said.
He said that $ 57 billion had been disbursed to contractors who handled the road projects financed by Sukuk from the $ 100 billion raised.
Uzo said that the extraordinary N47 billion would be disbursed based on the work done by the contractors.
"The money is there, if the contractors had completed their work, we would have already exhausted the N100 billion."
The director said that the Sukuk fund, obtained from the capital market, had certain rules that guide its disbursement.
He said the fund had trustees who oversee its disbursement on behalf of the investors and project monitoring consultants who work for the trustees to assess the amount of work that is being done.
"For each payment certificate, project monitoring consultants should go in conjunction with the ministry's supervisory staff and contractors to measure and agree on the amount of work performed.
"Then quantify it in terms of certification monitoring before sending it to the ministry and then to the Debt Management Office, so it's not like a normal capital allocation of the Federation Account," he added.
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