Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has kicked off the construction of the 21 kilometers Airport New Ife Expressway road, in Ajia town of the State.
At the ceremony, the Governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that billions of funds stolen from the State by officials of the previous administration are recovered, adding that his administration is already putting measures in place to retrieve the looted funds in developing the State’s infrastructure.
The 21-kilometre Airport-Ajia-New Ife Express Road, with a spur to Amuloko, is awarded to Messrs Peculiar Ultimate Concerns Ltd, at a total cost of N8.520 billion.
Governor Makinde vowed that his administration would drastically reduce the infrastructure deficit in the State and increase spending on infrastructure within the shortest possible time, saying it is only in doing so that the State could be positioned on the path of economic growth.
He said, “Investors will only go where they can be assured of profits. If we do not develop basic infrastructure like roads, it will affect the cost of production which, in turn, means less profit for investors. So, we cannot be seriously discussing attracting investments into Oyo State when majority of roads and other infrastructure are in a state of disrepair.”
The Governor revealed that the twenty-one-kilometre road is a result of his administration’s strategy of reducing infrastructure deficit, known as the Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA), a way of funding some infrastructural projects in the State by having the contractors fund the projects with their own money while the State repays them over a period of time.
Makinde stated, “What this entails is that the contractor carries the projects’ risk. At the same time, we get quality delivery and quick completion of projects. They will be bearing the risk of getting this project done in a timely manner, while we pay them over the next twenty-nine months. That comes down to roughly N300 million a month. So, while they will complete the project in one year, we have the option to repay in over twice the time.”
While explaining the reason the Airport-Ajia road costs more per kilometre than the 65 kilometre Moniya-Iseyin road, the Governor disclosed that there are more hydraulic structures on the Airport-Ajia road than the Moniya-Iseyin road, and that a lot of expansion and rehabilitation would be done on those bridges.
Makinde affirmed that his administration would continue to actualize capital projects through budgetary allocations and have the additional option of carrying out other infrastructural projects outside of the Budget, using the Alternative Project Funding Approach, saying there would be other projects under the approach.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr James Adepoju, said the project was aimed at eliminating congestion, decreasing travel time, improving the capacity of the road and improve the transportation of air passengers to and from the Airport and the Ibadan hinterland.
Some of the residents along the road applauded the Governor and appraised the importance of the road, saying the construction would add more value to the area.
