FG reaffirms Commitment to UN-Habitat Activities The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to the successful implementation of the Un- Habitat activities in the country.  Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engr Abubakar D Aliyu, (FNSE), made the reaffirmation this morning when a delegation from the UN-Habitat Mission paid him a courtesy visit at the Heaquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mabushi, Abuja. The Minister assured the UN –Habitat that the Ministry of Works and Housing would continue to ensue more of Federal Government voluntary contribution to its activities.  Engineer Aliyu added that the agenda of establishing a regional Multi Country office, West Africa in Abuja for the organization was being pursued by the Ministry. He expressed Nigeria’s desire to initiate the establishment of a broad based Multi Sectoral National Habitat Advisory Committee that would be charged with the responsibility of advising the government on the domestication and implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in Nigeria, seeking intervention programmes for implementation pertaining to the NUA and mobilizing sources of donor to UN – Habitat activities. While urging the UN body to fast track the Yobe Project because of the slow procurement process, Engr Aliyu  also stressed the need to coordinate the implementation of the HAPSO and African Urban Agenda Work plans.  " We are able to restore normalcy in the area, I urge you to fast track the Yobe project which we discussed earlier, the procurement process is slow " he said  Earlier, the leader of the delegation Mathias Spaliviero who is also the Senior Human Settlements Officer, Regional Office for Africa, informed the Minister that his team was in the country to engage national partners with respect to the proposed and on-going COVID- 19 intervention projects and implementation of the New Urban Agenda as well as the Sustainable Development Goals amongst other activities.  He gave the status of the on-going Karu Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA/UN-Habitat project and its replication in the North East especially Yobe State before taking it to other areas of the country as a National Programme of intervention. He stated that already the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) has made available a grant of USD220 to carry out emergency wash, health and other Urban Planning interventions in Karu peri-urban settlements in Nassarawa State to mitigate the negative health and social –economic impacts of COVID – 19 pandemic.   ...

Road Concession: FG Issues Notice for Commencement of HDMI’s Procurement Process The Federal Government has today issued the notice for the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) to commence the procurement for the twelve Federal highway roads it intends to concession under its novel Highway Management Development Initiative (HMDI) conceived last year.  Accordingly, the Ministry has launched an e-portal commencing the procurement process for the twelve pilot Federal highway roads for concession. Minister of Works and Housing Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), stated that the e-portal was launched in order to ensure competitiveness and guarantee transparency and would serve as the interface with the public in the management of the HDMI from Procurement to Implementation. He said: “Let me repeat that all our transactions will be done through this portal and we will not entertain any personal inquiries to me or to any of our staff who have correspondingly been mandated not to entertain such requests.” He said that the portal: https://hdmi.worksandhousing.gov.ng/)  would be opened for operation from next Monday and called on  those who have written  for enquires to make use of it.  “The day is now upon us, the venue is fixed and I have the pleasure to announce that the HDMI portal https://hdmi.worksandhousing.gov.ng/)  will open on Monday the 29th March, 2021, he said.  Continuing, he explained that the portal would be open for all HDMI related functions and most importantly, the Request for Qualification (RFQ) application for the Value Added Concession (VAC) which would be officially advertised on the same day.  He said the process was expected to be a vibrant process and a successful one that would unleash the commercial opportunities on Nigerian highways from paved roads, to clean and well-maintained highways, proper signage and route assurance signs, rest houses and commuter support for emergencies like vehicle towing and repairs. “Please visit the portal and I wish you all a very interactive and rewarding experience.” On infrastructure development of the nation, Mr. Fashola said one of the early initiatives of the Buhari administration was to improve the ease of doing business, and it is no secret that infrastructure was going to be an important driver of this initiative. Currently the government is executing over 700 different contracts which aggregates to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of over 13,000 km of roads and bridges across all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory. He said: “As a result of the size of the undertaking, there is an increasing and unsatisfied demand for funding to finance these projects to completion and to maintain them.” Delivering his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr.Babangida Hussaini stated that the Ministerial notice on the commencement of the Highways Development and Management Initiative ( HDMI) signaled the commencement of the procurement process for the concession of the twelve pilot broad corridors under HDMI. Explaining the objectives, the Permanent Secretary stated that the initiative would leverage private sector investment to improve facilities and operations on the selected routes, maximize the revenue generating potential of the routes and ensure international best practices in the development and management of the nation’s highways. He said: “This pilot project is expected to attract a lot of investment to the country, create jobs for our teeming youths and make travelling on our highways more desirable.” In his opening statement, the Ag. Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr. Micheal Ohiani said that ICRC as a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) regulatory commission would ensure a level playing ground for all interested players. He therefore called on all interested investor both local and foreign to participate in the bidding processes as it would be fair to all bidders.   ...

Third Mainland Bridge Opens Fully To Traffic  – Fashola The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has today announced in Abuja the final opening to traffic of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos from Saturday, February 27, 2021 at midday. This brings to final completion the rehabilitation and maintenance works which necessitated the partial closure of the Bridge since July 24, 2020. Mr. Fashola who gave the directives after reviewing the report from the Director Bridges and Design on the update of the rehabilitation works, thanked Lagosians for their patience and understanding while the rehabilitation work was going on. In view of this the Honourable Minister said, “there was no longer any need for us to close the bridge to traffic”. The Minister also thanked the Lagos State Government and their officials for their effective collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing engineers in ensuring the supervision and provision of traffic control support services to the contractors. The Honourable Minister on behalf of the Federal Government expressed his deep appreciation to all those who played one positive role or another including contractor Messrs Borini Prono; FERMA, LASTMA, FRSC , media and civil society organizations too numerous to mention individually. In particular, the Minister acknowledges and thanks all the commuters whose patience, understanding and cooperation were the biggest tools for the successful execution of the works and wishes all motorists who use the Bridge a safe motoring experience. ...