Borno Governor flags off N550m construction equipment for Kala-Balgehighway ...Says Kala-Balge is Nigeria's most marginalized LG

Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima on Friday launched ‎fifteen heavy duty construction equipments worth five hundred and fifty million naira dedicated for construction of a highway from Ngala to Kala-Balge local government areas through Rann, the latter's headquarter in the northern part of the State.

The equipment include sets of heavy lifting cranes, graders, excavators, tar boilers, bulldozers, smooth, steel and pneumatic rollers, shift foot compactors, water tankers and hundreds of spare parts, all recently acquired by the Borno State Road Maintenance Agency (BORMA) which has been boosted with series of equipment under a new management that is led by a civil engineer, Ahmed Satomi.

Shettima described communities ‎in Kala-Balge as the most marginalised of the 774 local government areas in the country. He said the geographic location of the local government along the shores of the Lake Chad with difficult topogrraphy has made successive government in the Borno State to neglect the council, a development that is reducing the area to a near outcast.

The Governor cited that due to lack of roads, it is impossible to access many communities in Kala-Balge during the rainy season. This he said, not only threatens socio-economic mobility but also makes the council vulnerable to security hostage situation.

Governor Shettima directed ‎BORMA to immediately deploy the equipment to focus on completing the road within the year. He also promised to liaise with security agencies to get military collaboration to support deployments and construction works.

The Agency's Chairman, Engineer Satomi told Governor Shettima to expect the completion of all earth works within the next five months after which the roads will be tarred. He promised to deliver the road before Governor Shettima completes his tenure in May, 2019.