The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), on Wednesday, put its total financial commitment into the construction of the Second Niger Bridge at $2.21 million (N435.4 million).
This is contained in a statement in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the Managing Director, NSIA, Mr Obinna Ihedioha.
According to the statement, the Niger Bridge project is a Public Private Partnership and will be constructed and operated on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis.
“It is expected that the bridge will be constructed and delivered in 48 months. When completed, the bridge and adjacent roads will have six lanes with three in each direction.
“The Project was initially estimated to cost N108 billion, excluding duties and Value Added Tax, but if duties and VAT are included, the Project cost is N117.9 billion,” it said.
Giving a breakdown of the amount spent, the statement said $247,005 was spent on the due diligence phase and $1.96 million on the project development phase.
“These services have included work in legal, financial, technical, engineering, environmental, and social impact advisory.
“This was provided by various credible and well-recognised Nigerian and international professional services firms. To date, total consultancy cost has been less than one percent of the estimated project cost.
To ensure effective implementation of the project, NSIA said it had assembled a team of Nigerian and international advisers with proven capabilities and global experience in PPP infrastructure projects.
It stated that the consultants were engaged through a rigorous and competitive procurement process.
