Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 08:55 am

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has confirmed that the construction of the 2nd Niger bridge has now reached its completion stage.

Fashola stated this at an ongoing press briefing to present the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.) scorecard in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to Fashola, the bridge will soon be released to the public for use.

The completion of the Second Niger Bridge will greatly improve the connectivity between South East and North of Nigeria, thus bringing people closer together.

This has been made possible through improved infrastructure and new provincial roads and highways which are now being built to span the whole country.

The construction of the bridge has created numerous job opportunities for local Nigerian citizens who have been employed to build it.

This will help Nigeria’s employment rate and aid in economic development.

The bridge is expected to reduce travelling time significantly, as it spans almost 1000 meters across the River Niger, providing a more efficient route for individuals crossing both sides of the river.

By reducing cargo delivery time from one side of Nigeria to another, the bridge will strengthen trade links among different regions within Nigeria and facilitate commerce between retail outlets.

As one of Nigeria’s most iconic infrastructure projects, thousands of tourists are expected to visit this landmark, helping to increase tourism within Nigeria and attract visitors from all over the world.

With better access routes across communities, distribution of resources such as food, water and healthcare supplies can be made quicker and more efficiently on both sides of the river when using this new bridge as a transportation link between them.

Automobiles driving on the newly built Second Niger Bridge have access to safer roads through improved checkpoints stationed at entry points into towns nearby the bridge itself to increase safety regulations for drivers commuting along it everyday.

The minister noted that the only factor delaying the commissioning of the road is the construction of the link road which the recent surge of flooding has impeded.

He said, “I can confirm that the second Niger bridge itself is finished.

People can walk through the bridge now unimpeded. What remains is the four-kilometer link road on the Asaba side.

“Right now, our dredger is in place, we have to rebuild the road by reclaiming sand, the recent surge of flood has slowed us down.

On the Onitsha side, there is a 7kilometer road that links the bridge and the Onitsha-Owerri interchange.”