The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved additional N80bn for the rehabilitation of Section II of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from Sagamu to Ibadan.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the council’s marathon meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Fashola said the additional cost would cater for changes that were not captured during the project’s conceptualisation.
An initial N96.3bn was approved for the section. The latest approval brings the cost to N176.5bn.
The minister also stated that FEC approved N18.87bn for the rehabilitation and repair of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State.
He said the contract for the repair was awarded to Borini Prono, one of the original builders of the bridge.
Fashola gave the completion period of the project as 27 months.
He explained that the contract would involve critical repair works on all the 177 piles holding up the bridge, as well as general expansion joints replacement for the several expansion belts on the bridge.
He said the project was part of the national bridge maintenance strategy being implemented by the Federal Government.
According to him, the work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway includes about 43 inches of reconstruction from earth base, toll plazas and service lanes needed to “accommodate new realities and structures that have since sprung along the road.”
Fashola stated that FEC also approved the construction of four other roads, including the 9th Mile-Orokam Highway across Enugu and Benue states, at a cost of N38.04bn.
The 72-kilometre road is to be handled by the civil engineering firm, RCC Limited.
The construction of the Illie Bridge in Osun State was reawarded at a cost of N2.54bn. It was initially awarded in 2011 and revised in 2012.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said FEC also constituted a committee to inspect the East-West Road towards completing the project.
The committee comprises the ministers of Transportation, Information, Works and Niger Delta.