By Adedapo Adesanya
The commencement of the concessionaire of 12 federal roads under the federal government’s Highway Management Development Initiative (HMDI) will commence on Monday, March 29.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Works and Housing has launched an e-portal commencing the bidding process for the 12 highways slated for concession.
The affected roads the Kano-Shuari, Potiskum-Damaturu, Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, Lagos-Badagry-Seme Border, Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano-Katsina, Onitsha-Owerri, Shagamu-Benin and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga.
The Minister of Works and Housing Minister, Mr Babatunde Fashola, 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 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 will open on Monday, March 29, 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 successful 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,” he said.
On infrastructure development of the nation, Mr Fashola said one of the early initiatives of the President Muhammadu 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.
At present, the government is executing over 700 different contracts which aggregate 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.”
On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Babangida Hussaini stated that the Ministerial notice on the commencement of the HDMI signalled the commencement of the procurement process for the concession of the twelve pilot broad corridors under the scheme.
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 acting Director-General of the 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.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka