FG approves N12bn loan for water supply in Lagos, C/River

THE Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved a loan of $77 million (about N12 billion) for  improvement of urban water supply in Lagos and Cross River states.

The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, who briefed State House correspondents after the weekly meeting of the council presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, said the concessionary loan from a French agency would fund ongoing urban water projects in the two states.

A breakdown of the loan shows that Lagos will get $33.8 million (about N5.2 billion) while  Cross River State will get $43.9 million (N6.8 billion).

Maku explained that the loan was to facilitate access to water in a number of towns and cities in the states, adding that in Cross River, the loan would be used to provide water supply in Calabar, Ogoja, Ikom and Obudu.

He stated that the council also approved N2.3 billion for expansion work on the service lane of the Niger bridge at Onitsha as well as a N444 million contract for the completion of the Ibadan-Oyo section of the Ilorin-Ibadan Expressway.

Similarly, FEC approved the construction of the Sagbemi-Kirigbo-Gada-Igbekibo road in Ondo State, with a completion period of two years.

According to the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Darius Ishaku, the project is part of the post-amnesty programme for the region intended to improve the socio-economic standard of the area, facilitate movement of goods and persons as well as create wealth for the people of the area.

Speaking on Power, the Minister of State for Power, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, noted that the Federal Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese companies to construct the Mambila and Zungeru hydroelectric dams.