The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the moribund Ajaokuta steel company will provide 16 percent of the steel material needed for the construction of 30,000 kilometers of roads in concrete pavement.
He also stated that the government needs $35bn to kick start the construction of concrete roads nationwide.
The minister stated this after a meeting with the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaib Audu, at the ministry headquarters in Abuja.
The Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Orji Uchenna, in a statement on Tuesday night said, the meeting underscored the imperative of coordination, cooperation, and coherence in the execution of the Federal Government’s action plans for national development.
The minister noted that the funding which would be gotten through a partnership with a commercial bank will be assented to by the federal executive council.
Umahi said, “How do we reactivate the Ajaokuta Steel. We are going into the concrete road, in this concrete road, about 16 percent of it is from Steel while 30 per cent is cement. We need a lot of money to start but we decided to face it and God has given us an idea.
According to the statement, the ministers resolved to synergise and strategise on steps to tap into the opportunities in Ajaokuta Steel Plant for the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria.
Earlier in his remark, the minister of Steel Development had emphasised the importance of the initiative and expressed hope that it would provide the needed economic boost for the nation, generate revenue and provide thousands of direct jobs for skilled and non-skilled technicians and hundreds of thousands of unskilled jobs in Nigeria.
Source: blueprint
