Certificate Of Compliance: FG Set To Commence Procurement Of Concessions Under The HDMI – Fashola The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has said that with the receipt of the Certificate of Compliance, the Federal Government is to officially commence the procurement process for the highway concessions under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI). According to the Minister, the HDMI would facilitate further development of Nigeria’s federal highway network by bringing in investment to improve efficiency, accountability, and profitable entrepreneurship to the operation, management, and maintenance of all assets within the Right of Way on the highways. Mr. Fashola said that the initiative has further affirmed the President Muhammadu Buhari administration's commitment to infrastructure development funding which has been driven by the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme Order of 2018 , the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) being managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the SUKUK Fund. He noted that through such initiatives the Federal Government has been leveraging on private sector funding and participation in the development of critical infrastructure across the country and the HDMI is another innovation developed to attract the private sector. The Minister who spoke at the official handover of the Certificate of Compliance by ICRC, explained that the HDMI was a fully home-grown idea that would deliver a safer and enjoyable travel experience for Nigerian road users as travel time would be shortened, cost reduced, and commercial activities stimulated. Explaining further, he said the HDMI is an indigenous Land Value Capture scheme conceived by the Ministry to develop Nigeria's network of federal highway corridors and boost economic development along the Right of Way. He added that it would be executed in two parts comprising Value Added Concession (VAC) and Unbundled Assets Approval (UAA). On the economic benefits, Mr. Fashola said: “Apart from infrastructure and assets development, thousands of jobs will be created for Nigerians as the initiative will open up the highway economy with opportunities in various economic activities including fabrication of gantries and directional signages with advertising opportunities, towing van operations and auto repair stations, operation of rest areas and emergency services, among others.” Continuing, he said: “ When fully operational road users will now enjoy first-class facilities on federal highways with directional signages, well-equipped rest areas, round-the-clock security patrol, and ambulance services for emergencies”. Mr. Fashola appreciated and commended the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission’s (ICRC) diligent appraisal of the initiative and for issuing Certificate of Compliance to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to proceed with the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI). In his welcome address the Permanent Secrtary , Federal Minsitry of Works and Housing Babangida Hussaini said that the development , expansion and maintenance of federal highways have increasingly become a herculean task to government due to dwindling  revenues and other compelling public service obliigaitons. He said: ‘’It is to mitigate this challenge that the Ministry has adopted the option of exploring the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement , which seeks to employ the private sector’s technical competencies , managerial capabilities and financial resources to salvage the federal roads networks.” According to him, the PPP arrangement in the management  of our highways will bring order, efficiency , accountability and profitable entrepreneurship to the operation , management , maintenance of all assets within the nation’s right of way.  Earlier, the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Engineer Chidi Izuwah represented by Barr. Joel Micheal Ohiani , who presented the certificate to the Minister in Abuja on Friday 29th January, 2021 said that the initiative would enable private sector participation in the management and maintenance of road assets through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) is charged with the responsibility of developing guidelines for monitoring contract compliance during construction, operation, and contract termination and supporting MDAs like the Ministry of Works and Housing in achieving such compliance. Over time, ICRC had collaborated with the Ministry of Works and Housing, to implement a cohesive national legal, policy, and regulatory environment that was conducive to private sector investment in Nigeria’s roads and housing projects. He commended the novel initiative and said that it would create jobs, boost the government's revenue, and speed up Nigeria's economic recovery, citing the popular Chinese proverb that says, “If you want to grow rich, build a good road first.”   ...

FG Inaugurates the Sector Skills Council on Construction The Federal Government has inaugurated the Sector Skills Council on Construction with the core mandate of tackling the skills and productive needs of the construction industry.  While delivering his speech at the occasion, the Honourable Minister of State for Works and Housing Engineer Abubakar D. Aliyu, (FNSE), who performed the inauguration pointed out that the establishment of the Sector Skills Council is a deliberate decision of the Federal Government to address the challenges of skills gap, skills supply, skills quality and skills demand of the building sector in the construction Industry. The Minister spelt out the scope of their mandate as follows: Establishment and maintenance of strategy for the coordination and incorporation of emerging trends in skills development, Development of competency standards and qualifications, Developing a sector skill development plan and maintenance of skill inventory, influence how training is delivered in Nigeria, productivity improvement and consistency in reducing skills gaps and shortages. The Council is also expected to inherit the National Occupational Standards in some critical trades, a labour market information system and a secretariat with modest personnel from the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), he added. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Babangida Husseini enjoined members of the newly inaugurated Council to justify the confidence reposed on them by their appointment while urging them to think out ways that the sector can reduce  the problem of youth unemployment. He commended the Honourable Minister Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN and the Honourable Minister of State for Works and Housing for the various intervention programmes they have introduced toward the attainment of the Ministry’s mandate. In his welcome address, the Chairman Inauguration Committee of the Sector Skills Council on Construction, Dr. Samson Ameh Opaluwa disclosed that the National Board for Technical Education had obtained an approval of Government through the Federal Ministry of Education to implement and regulate the National Skills qualification Framework (NSQF) in Nigeria in 2014. He revealed that in constituting the Sector Skill Council, deliberate efforts were made to ensure the representation of a broad spectrum of the stakeholders in the construction industry in Nigeria adding that it was expected to be a stakeholder and private sector –led as two third of the nominees were representatives of the Private Sector while one third  was made up of relevant government regulatory bodies and actors in the construction and housing sector. Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Engineer Gianfranco Albertazzi who is also  joint Managing Director Borini Prono & Co Nig Ltd  pledged that the council will do Nigeria proud by  qualifying and equipping  a very large  number of citizens to contribute more consciously to the county’s development as well as create an informed middle class, trained in the art of building. He called for the support of stakeholders both from the government and private sector to achieve their mandate. Members of the Sector Skills Council include: Federation of the construction Industry (FOCI), representatives of Artisans, Indigenous Contractors, one from each geo-political zone, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Representatives of Awarding Bodies (NIOB), Representatives of training providers, one from each geo- political zone, Facilities Management Consultants, Builders Structure Consultants and Service Consultants. Others are National Board for Technical Education, (NBTE), Director of building services, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Standard Organisation of Nigeia (SON), Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Family Homes Funds Ltd (FHFL), Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON), Architects Registration Council (ARCON), Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN) and Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBONI).   ...

FG Reaffirms Commitment to Completing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway .... As works on the 127 kilometre road progresses appreciably The ongoing rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of Lagos -Ibadan dual carriage way has reached an appreciable level of completion and the Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to completing it on schedule. This was disclosed by Engr. Funsho Adebiyi, the Director Highways Construction and Rehabilitation of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing during the on-going visit to the project site over the weekend to assess the progress of work done. On the quality of work on the project, the Director said, "We are satisfied with the quality of work going on and we are working to increase the pace of the work. You can see that work is going on simultaneously on all sections of the dual carriage 127 km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. " Adebiyi explained that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is one of the busiest roads in Nigeria and pointed out that it is a trunk A road located in the South-West region of Nigeria. Adebiyi further explained that because of the strategic importance of the road which connects the Northern,  Southern and Eastern parts of Nigeria, the Federal government would do all that is necessary to see that the project is completed on time. "The project is a strategic infrastructure development of Mr. President in bridging the Infrastructure gap of the nation and this demonstrated that the present administration is poised to developing our highways," he said. Speaking on the traffic gridlock that occurred in the early hours of Saturday, the Director explained that it was caused by break down of vehicle and not by the ongoing construction work. He therefore appealed to drivers to be patient and to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition before they make use of the road. On the level of work done so far, the Director of Highways South-West, Engr. Kuti Adedamola said: "We have made a lot of progress. You can see that works on the two sections are going on simultaneously, 35km of the 47km of Section l has been covered giving us about 49.6 percent completion level,  while 55.39 kilometers of the 84km of Section II has been covered as well giving us  about 56.8 percent completion level." On the quality of work, Engr. Kuti said, “I am impressed with the level of work going on.  You can see progress made when compared to the last time we visited.  Work has been progressed in the two sections of the expressway. " He further explained that Federal Government was committed to deliver the project on time for the benefit of road users. Speaking on the scope of work, Ogun State Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Umar Bakare stated that the scope involved rehabilitation and widening of the existing expressway, drainage works and provision of expansion joints, hand rails on bridges. He added that the scope will cover repairs of existing bridges and construction of new ones as well as building of toll plaza and installation of street lights. ...