The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has said with the receipt of certificate of compliance, the federal government is now set to officially commence the procurement process for concessioning of 12 roads under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

The roads are Benin-Asaba (125km), Abuja-Lokoja (193km), Kano-Katsina (150km), Onitsha-Owerri-Aba (161km), Shagamu-Benin (258km), Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga (122km), Kano-Shuari (100km), Potiskum-Damaturu (96.24km), Lokoja-Benin (270km), Enugu-Port Harcourt (200km), Ilorin-Jebba (129km), Lagos-Otta-Abeokuta (80km), and Lagos-Badagry-Seme (79km).

Fashola noted that the initiative would facilitate further development of Nigeria’s federal highway network by attracting investment to improve efficiency and accountability in the maintenance of all assets within the Right of Way (RoW) on the highways.

Speaking at the official handover of the certificate of compliance by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission’s (ICRC), the minister noted that the HDMI was a home-grown idea that would deliver a safer and enjoyable travel experience, shorten travel time, reduce cost and stimulate commercial activities.

He noted that the government’s infrastructure development plan was being driven by the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme Order of 2018, the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) being managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the SUKUK Fund.