Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of $115 million to support a major road rehabilitation project in Abia State, Nigeria.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Nigeria Country Department of the multilayer bank on Saturday in Abuja.
It said the project would see to the rehabilitation of roads, erosion control infrastructure and preparation of solid waste management facilities in the state capital, Umuahia, and the commercial hub, Aba.
“Financing for the project, estimated at a total cost of $263.80 million, will come through an AfDB loan of $100 million.
”A Canada–AfDB Climate Fund (CACF) loan of $15 million and a $125 million co-financing loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
“The Abia State government will provide $23.80 million in counterpart funding for compensation to people affected by the project and implementation of a Resettlement Action Plan,” the statement said.
The project, which is expected to be completed in 2029, has a total of 248.46 km of road. It was disclosed that it had 58.03 km of roads in Umuahia and 190.43 km of roads in Aba would be rehabilitated to asphaltic concrete standards at varying cross-sections.
“Erosion sites in Umuahia and Aba will be reinstated as well as preparatory studies undertaken for private sector participation in solid waste management for the two cities.
”The project will also include capacity building, project management and development of social infrastructure.
”This includes the rehabilitation of schools and the provision of sanitation facilities in schools, community markets and hospitals.”
It said with an estimated population of 553,000 and 814,000, respectively (2022 estimates), Umuahia and Aba, the commercial hub, are currently facing serious infrastructure challenges.
The statement said this aroused from decades of underinvestment amid rapid urbanisation, and the situation was aggravated by gully erosion and the emergence of huge piles of solid waste on the roads.
It said when completed, the 1.37 million population in these two cities would benefit from reduced travel time, vehicle operating costs and lower transport costs.
”The project will also create 3,000 temporary jobs (30 per cent for women) at the construction phase and about 1,000 permanent jobs during the operational phase.
”The permanent jobs will particularly benefit the youths, who will make up 50 per cent of the project.
”They will be trained in contract management by the State Youth Road Maintenance Corps for road maintenance, a body of young Abia engineers drawn from the 17 Local Government Areas of the state,” it said.
Speaking on this, Mr Lamin Barrow, the Director-General of AfDB’s Nigeria Country Department, said the project would build resilience by providing the town’s access to urban infrastructure services, including economic and social amenities.
Mr Barrow said, “The results from the implementation of the project will help expand access to economic and social amenities in the two cities and thereby contribute to building sustainable and liveable cities.”
