Toll fees to be introduced for Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, more – Minister
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has announced that the Federal Government will toll all major roads in the country upon completion of construction and renovation.
“We are completing the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and we will be tolling it,” Umahi said on Thursday in Abuja at an Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing, part of the activities to mark Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.
He listed several roads set for tolling, including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and Makurdi-9th Mile, among others.
The former Ebonyi State governor stated that tolling federal roads “is going to bring a lot of money to the Federal Government.”
Umahi mentioned that members of the private sector have been engaged “to bring in funds, construct these roads, and work with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Works to toll these roads.”
The minister stated that the government would start with the completed Keffi-Makurdi Road, noting that his ministry has been engaging with the Ministry of Finance for a paperless payment system.
He said, “For example, we are completing the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, working on the Makurdi to 9th Mile road in Enugu State, and improving the route from Abuja to Lagos. These roads are going to be tolled. But we are not just tolling them; we are building confidence in the use of these roads.”
“If people can travel at night because we are enhancing security, with a response time of 10 minutes along the entire corridor, where solar lights are installed permanently and travel times are reduced, then through tolling, the roads can be maintained. This will build confidence because Nigerians will pay if the roads are good.”
He noted that road development has not been treated as an investment in the past, but the administration of President Bola Tinubu has been managing road development more professionally.
He added that the current administration inherited a total of 300 damaged roads and bridges, stating that more road construction will commence on October 1, 2024, across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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