Why Nigerian roads collapse quickly – Onolememen Nigeria has been wobbling with economic growth since political independence in 1960, largely due to lack of key infrastructure that should help to attract investment. However, even President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration officials believe that the absence of infrastructure remains the bane of economic growth and development in the country and that unless something is urgently done to checkmate it, the entire economy would continue to be retarded. It is against this backdrop that the Minister of Works Arc. Mike Onolememen, in a chat with the Daily Sun during the 20th National Council on Works in Ilorin, Kwara State, hinted that the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry of Justice are collaborating to ensure that all Federal Highways’ “Right of Way” are acquired and gazetted to avert encroachment in accordance with the Federal Highway Act CAP 135. He stated that in spite of their importance, roads in most developing countries are often poorly financed and managed. He noted that between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of roads in developing countries are in poor condition, costing the national economies about 3.5 per cent of their GDP annually. Excerpts: Roads under heavy pressure Roads in most developing countries like in Nigeria are often poorly financed and managed. Consequently, between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of roads in developing countries are in poor condition, costing the national economy about 3.5 per cent of the GDP annually. This is as a result of increased vehicle operating cost, longer travel times, higher accident rates, more freight damage and additional cost of roads rehabilitation. According to a World Bank Report (1988), poor financing of road infrastructure by the public budgeting procedures and poor management by the public road administrations have been identified as major causes of the deterioration of roads in developing countries like in Nigeria. Other challenges include the 2.5 per cent population growth rate per annum, and high level of vehicles importation into the country. In 1983, only 150,000 vehicles were plying Nigerian roads. Today, the number has grown to nearly 10 million, as everything from ordinary groceries to goods/services is conveyed from one place to another through the road network. In addition to this, is the excessive axle loading on our roads, occasioned by the movement of heavy articles such as steel billets, cement, iron rods and most recently power turbines on the road. All these contribute to making rehabilitation and maintenance of the roads expensive and inevitable. General infrastructure deficit in Nigeria Nigeria, like most African countries, has huge infrastructure deficit and physical infrastructure like roads, houses, power and water are essential for the growth of any economy. However, with adequate investment in infrastructure sector, the deficit could be curtailed. For the road sector alone, it has been estimated that in order to adequately support economic growth at current growth rate and meet Vision 20:2020 target, we need to invest in the construction of at least 14,000km of new roads annually for the next seven years. We will also have to maintain and rehabilitate the existing road network as a matter of routine. This will require the average annual expenditure on roads to increase seven-fold to nearly N750 billion. Remember that Vision 20:2020 requires that Nigeria attains a GDP of at least $900 billion by the year 2020 and GDP per capita of at least $4,000. But experience has shown that there is a direct link between economic growth and the size and condition of road networks and for every $1 spent on road development, there is a corresponding increase in the nation’s GDP. We must also know that good infrastructure creates good economies. The nexus between road development and sustainable economic growth makes it imperative for the improvement of our road network. I wish to submit that with the right institutional and legal frameworks in place, the road sector will definitely be attractive to both local and foreign investors. Equally, the introduction of Performance-based road management and maintenance Contracts (PBC), will improve effectiveness and efficiency in executing road maintenance. Road sector in economic development Reforming the road sector for sustainable economic development is particularly apt in our quest to improve the road infrastructure in Nigeria. This is in line with the Transformation Agenda of the present administration which seeks to deliver better and safer roads to Nigerian road users as to enhance economic development and national integration. We must bear in mind the importance of the road sector to the socio-economic development of our nation and endeavour to collaborate with other stakeholders where necessary to ensure sustainable development of our road network. Financing Nigeria’s road infrastructure I need to point out that several far-reaching decisions were taken at the 19th Council on Works in Lagos last year to set the platform for the Ministry under my leadership to revolutionize the road sector for the economic development of our country. Seventeen months on, the Ministry has made giant strides in ensuring that institutional reforms in the road sector that would stimulate private sector financing of road infrastructure in Nigeria, are put in place. For example, two draft bills for the creation of the Federal Road Authority and National Road Fund arising from the Ministry’s Road Sector Reform Committee’s report and its collaboration with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) have been approved by the National Council on Privatization and reviewed by the Federal Ministry of Justice. The two bills will soon be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval, before their transmission to the National Assembly. I am optimistic that when passed into Law by the National Assembly, the bills would not only attract huge private sector funds required to fill the funding gap in the development of road infrastructure in our country, but would also lead to the creation of more business opportunities for engineering professionals and also create jobs for Nigerians. Government policies to support project implementation It is also important for me to inform you that the Ministry has commenced the implementation of new policies towards better service delivery, such as, the use of bitumen emulsion in all road projects in line with the Kyoto Protocol that discourages emission of gases that increase global warming, and abolished the use of kerosene on any road project in Nigeria. Another policy that has come into operation and which has had the most salutary effect on effective service delivery in line with the performance management mantra of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is the development of a new template for preparing interim statements of contractors. This policy ensures that only works of a permanent nature are included in interim statement valuations for payment. This has saved the Federal Government huge sums of money hitherto lost to washouts on works that have been certified and paid for. The new mandatory requirement for detailed geotechnical studies authenticated by the department of Materials, Geotechnics & Quality Control before a project is designed is another of such policies. The Ministry is working with relevant government agencies and private sector organizations to ensure that the National Tolling Policy is in place before the end of this year as we work towards achieving private sector financed road infrastructure in the country. Federal Highways and Right of Way The Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development and the Ministry of Justice are collaborating to ensure that all Federal Highways’ “Right of Way” are acquired and gazetted to avert encroachment in accordance with the Federal Highway Act CAP 135. This comes as the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of approval for all Federal Roads within 5-10km radius from the city centre of State Capitals to be ceded to the states which is to form part of the State Road Network for its control and maintenance. State governments that have met the pre-conditions for intervention on rehabilitation and/or maintenance of federal roads in their States, would be reimbursed soon. Maintenance of old access roads In the last two years, my Ministry has made significant progress in the rehabilitation, construction, reconstruction, expansion and maintenance of key arterial roads across the six geopolitical zones of the country. This has resulted in reduced travel times, transport fares by commuters, and cost of maintaining vehicles by transporters. When aggregated, it is appropriate to say that we are progressively moving towards giving Nigerians a better road network for sustainable economic development. Solution to bridging the gap It is imperative that we should rise up to this great challenge of reforming the road sector for sustainable economic development. Furthermore, we must move away from the palliative approach to road development to taking bold approaches. For us to realize this objective that should be enhanced collaboration between the three tiers of government and the private sector will help to produce the desired results, and place the country at par with other emerging nations such as Indonesia, South Africa, India, Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. That also means that for Nigeria to be able to bridge the gap between her and these countries in road infrastructure development, there must be strong collaboration with the private sector and multilateral agencies like the World Bank, Africa Development Bank and other development agencies. In this regard one is excited that the conducive democratic environment in the country has started to yield encouraging foreign private investment with over USD300 million funding of road projects under the Road Sector Development Team, through the collaborative platform of the Federal Ministry of Works. It can only get better with visionary leadership approach and more fruitful discussions on investment opportunities in the country. PPPs in funding road projects Again, we are taking a number of steps not only to ensure that Direct Foreign Investments (DFIs) and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) thrive in the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria, but we also want to guarantee transparency and accountability in the process. These efforts are underscored by the fact that government alone can no longer fund huge projects portfolio due to limited financial resources. The government has recently embarked on a number of Public Private Partnership projects as means of delivering some critical national infrastructure such as the construction of the Second Niger Bridge. However, the Public Private Partnership project development process takes longer time than traditional project procurements. Clearly, there is global competition amongst nations to attract private capital into infrastructure through Public Private Partnerships and other forms of engaging private capital. One of the essential ingredients for attracting private finances is the existence of strong institutions that provide the platform for collaboration as well as rekindle investor’s confidence. We must continue to innovate and build sustainability in all our endeavours.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 06:08:12 +0000
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