The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria has approved US $575.5m for the construction of the 11.9 km link road to the second Niger Bridge.
Confirming the statement, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said  the project which was initiated by the former administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan under the private public partnership (PPP) but collapsed, has been taken over by the federal government,awarding the contract to Julius Berger.
Also read:Â Set back as construction of second Niger bridge in Nigeria is halted
Construction delays
According to Mohammed, the contract meant to be executed within 24 months was awarded to Setraco following the failure of the earlier contractor to whom the project was awarded to execute the project.
“Completion period is set to take 24 months. What happened was that the contract was awarded earlier to a company that failed and now Setraco has taken over while the contract of the other contractor has been rescinded,” he said.
Mohammed also added that besides the memorandum on the link bridge that was approved by FEC, the council has also re-awarded Oji- Achi- Mmaku- Awgu- Ndeabor road in Enugu State at a cost of US $32.3 m.
The second Niger bridge will include not just the link road, but also associated infrastructure and link Anambra and Delta States.