Federal Government don inaugurate committee to oversee the implementation of cashless tolling system on Abuja-Keffi expressway and the dualised Keffi-Akwanga-Makurdi road. The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, make this announcement on Thursday in Abuja.
The project, wey cost $542 million, be funded 85% by China Exim Bank and 15% by Federal Government. China Harbour Engineering Company Limited be the one wey execute the project under Engineering, Procurement, and Construction-Finance model. Part of the agreement na to toll the road to repay the loan.
Umahi talk say the cashless tolling system be part of Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), aimed at promoting strong and sustainable transportation ecosystem. He say dis initiative be one of the core strategies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to realize road sector development for Nigerians.
The committee’s terms of reference include developing the framework for the cashless tolling system, recommending relief stations, and proposing solutions to challenges related to toll collection in Nigeria. Umahi also talk about establishing relief stations along expressways, modelled after international standards, with facilities like supermarkets, clinics, security stations, and parks.
Head of the PPP Unit at the Ministry of Works, Mrs Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya, say the initiative align with statutory mandates to attract private sector funding for federal roads development and management. She mention laws like ICRC Establishment Act 2005, National Policy on Public-Private Partnership, Federal Roads and Bridges Tolling Policy of August 2021, and Federal Highways Act CAP. 135, 1971.
The committee, wey include members from Federal Ministries of Works, Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Justice, get two weeks to submit their report. The Chair of the committee, Jummai Katagum, promise say dem go deliver on their assignment.
