Dangote, others leveraging on TCS to reconstruct 19 federal highways—Minister
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, in Lagos on Sunday disclosed that 19 major federal highways are currently under reconstruction by some private sector investors who are leveraging on the federal government’s called Tax Credit Scheme (TCS).
One of the road projects is the ongoing reconstruction of Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonsoki Expressway being bankrolled by Dangote Group under the scheme.
Business Hilights recalls that earlier in the year, President Muhammadu Buhari introduced the new road infrastructure delivery strategy.
TCS is a new partnership platform with willing private sector operators who are willing to put down their hard earned money for quality road infrastructure delivery on the condition that their bill will be rebated with tax holidays over a period covering the total amount spent for the road project plus other incentives.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the ongoing Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonsoki Expressway project under reconstruction, the Minister commended the quality of rigid pavement being constructed using cement, saying “This is the kind of standard that we want roads to have in Nigeria.”
While hailing Dangote Industries for heeding to the calls of the Federal Government in coming to the rescue of critical federal highways like Apapa-Oshodi, Ahmed called on other private sector investors to buy into the scheme to bridge road infrastructure gap in the nation.
Some of the engineers working with the handling contractor, HITECH Construction Company, told our correspondent that apart from the esthetic beauty of cement roads, it remains more durable and easy to maintain more than asphalting
The contractor had delivered between right lane from Cele Bus Stop and Oshodi with thickness of over 12 inches and is currently working left lane.
Besides, HITECH is also fast-tracking Apapa Port outward section to Mile 2 all on cement and reinforcement with quality iron and beams.
