Kano commences construction of longest fly-over bridge in West Africa
Governor Rabi'u Kwankwaso of Kano State said on Tuesday that the state had embarked on the construction of its third fly-over bridge which will be one of the longest bridges in the West African sub-region.
He was speaking at the ongoing Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Abuja where he received a Special Merit Award.
“In the last two and a half years we have initiated projects that have not only impacted on the lives of the people but should be of great interest to Nigerian engineers.
“For instance, two fly-overs are under construction in the city of Kano and work has reached an advanced stage.
“Only three weeks ago, the third fly-over contract was awarded at the Central Business Area of Kano at more than N10 billion.
“It is one of the longest fly-over bridges in West African sub-region; this 1.76km flyover is expected to be completed within 14 months.
He said the fly-over was constructed to ease traffic congestion around the Abubakar Rimi Market.
While recounting the achievements of his administration since 2011, the governor noted that three new cities of Kwankwasiyya, Amana, and Badirawo were under construction at the cost of N20.8 billion.
In the area of water supply, he said 1,000mm and 600mm diameter ductile iron pipes covering 158.5 km were being laid to improve water supply in the state.
According to him, the pipes cost N7.99billion while N563 million was expended in laying the pipes.
“Another historic project of interest is the Jakara River Project.
“This is a 6.67km dual carriageway being constructed on top of the river using buried circular conduits and an asphaltic concrete on top with streetlights and traffic lights at the cost of N7.5 billion .
“We have also commenced two independent hydropower projects at Challawa and Tiga Dams at the total cost N14.2 billion .'
In the education sector, Kwankwaso said the state had recorded many achievements at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
“Education is a major priority of our administration. That is why we are feeding our pupils numbering more than two million in all our primary schools with lunch five times in a week, and giving them two sets of uniform free, annually.
“This has increased enrolment and we have so far built more than 2,000 additional classrooms, 1,000 toilets and 400 houses for teachers in the rural areas.
“This is to ensure that the teachers stay in schools and don't have to shuttle from the city to their places of work daily.
“We have now embarked on fencing all our primary and secondary schools in order to improve their security and stop people from encroaching on them'
He further said 80 schools had been upgraded, 44 technical and Islamic schools built in each of the 44 local government areas of the state while 100 electronic libraries had also been provided.