Benue secures €25m EIB loan to construct roads

The Benue State Government has secured €25m from the European Investment Bank to construct 500-kilometre roads across the state.

This was disclosed by the State Coordinator, Benue Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, Stephen Numbeve, in Makurdi on Thursday.

According to Numbeve, all the paperwork has been completed, maintaining that the agency would commence work as soon as the fund is disbursed.

According to the RAAMP coordinator, the road designs for 300 kilometres of roads have been completed, while works for the remaining 200 kilometres are ongoing.

Numbeve further said that the roads are expected to cut across 53 road networks in the state.

He said, ‘As soon as I resumed here (the agency) I immediately went into action and I’ve been able to secure funds from the European Investment Bank, along six other states, including Edo, Anambra, Cross River, Taraba and Borno states.

‘The total amount secured by the six states was 150 million euros, meaning 25 million euros for each state, though disbursement is yet to be done, all the relevant signings and agreements have been done.

‘The Minister of Finance has signed with the European Investment Bank on our behalf and we are hoping that most likely and God’s willing, this June, disbursements will be done.

He added, ‘As a prelude to commencing work as soon as we get the funds is that we have embarked on engineering road designs; this is important to the building of any road, be it rural or township roads.

‘We have been able to successfully work on the designs for 300-kilometer roads and today we signed another contract for 200-kilometer roads and the contractor will be mobilized to the site today.

‘So within the shortest possible time work on the other 200 kilometer roads will commence, adding to the 300 kilometres roads, to make it 500 kilometer roads. This will cut across 53 roads in Benue. So we are expected to build 53 roads as soon as we get the disbursements.”