Story from Sunday ABAH, Abuja
The federal government has affirmed its commitment to a transparent, fair, and competitive process throughout the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) opened bidding for the first 12 federal roads that have been earmarked for concessions.
The 12 pilot road corridors are: Benin – Asaba, Abuja – Lokoja, Kaduna – Kano, Onitsha – Owerri – Aba, Shagamu – Benin, Abuja – Keffi – Akwanga, Lokoja – Benin, Enugu – Port Harcourt, Ilorin – Jebba, Lagos– Ota – Abeokuta, Lagos – Badagry, and Kano – Shuari – Portiskum – Damaturu.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Authority (FMWH), Babangida Hussaini, gave the assurance yesterday at the HDMI Request for Qualification (RFQ) bid opening ceremony which signals the commencement of the Value Added Concession (VAC) evaluation exercise.
He said “The ministry is committed to a transparent, fair, and competitive bidding process throughout the HDMI project life cycle. 12 pilot road corridors have been earmarked for concessioning they are considered very viable.”
According to him, the committee is to be chaired by the director, Public Procurement who is an expert in public procurement and public-private partnership (PPP), while the ministry ensures that the process ends well in line with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and Public Procurement Acts.
Speaking, the Head, Public-Private Partnership in the ministry, Abimbola Asein, said necessary approvals from ICRC, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and the National Assembly (NASS) had been obtained to ensure the success of the whole exercise as the country looks forward to the robust procurement process that will usher in competent concessionaires.
She said, “The ministry is working jointly with ICRC, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFB & NP) among other stakeholders to see to the realization of the project.
“The buy-in of FEC and NASS has been obtained, and the nation is looking forward to a robust procurement process that will usher in the much-needed concessionaires that will develop and manage these routes while recouping their investment through the toll and non-toll revenue sources.”
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