A SENATE panel has been told that the Federal Government needs N50 billion to put the second River Niger bridge in place.

When the fund is available, the project will be completed in three years.
In a submission at a public hearing organized by the Senate Committee on Works in Abuja yesterday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the bridge should be in place in the next three years if pressure on the existing bridge was to be relieved.
The committee, headed by Senator Idris Kuta was receiving submissions for its report on a "Bill to Provide for an Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and Matters Concerned Therewith."
To relieve the government of the financial burden, Baba-Ahmed made a case for concessionary arrangements. He said that many foreign companies were interested in building roads, teaching hospitals and schools, among others, and providing numerous services.
Baba-Ahmed explained that the concession would enrich and widen the scope of facilities available to Nigerians as well as free public funds for use in areas of priority.
Describing the proposed commission as "essentially a protection agency". Baba-Ahmed said the bill would put the government in charge, saying "it is not privatization.
"It will not take assets belonging to the Nigerian people and hand them over to outsiders," he said, adding, "we need this commission because a lot of foreign investors are knocking at our doors."

Article Copied from 2004 Punch Newspaper