FG Accesses $67m World Bank Loan To Develop Hadejia Dam
Senator Muhammad ubali shittu[/caption]
Senator Ubale Shittu, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, on Sunday said the Federal Government has accessed a $67 million World Bank loan to rehabilitate Hadejia Valley Dam in Jigawa State.
Shittu told the News Agency of Nigeria in in Dutse that $60 million would be used to rehabilitate and expand the dam by 1,000 hectares.
He said that the remaining $7 million would be spent on dredging of the river from Tiga Dam in Kano State to Koli in Kirikasama Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
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According to him, the contract for the project would be awarded next month while work is expected to commence by the end of first quarter.
Shittu, representing Jigawa North-East, said the project would boost irrigation, water supply and fish farming in the area, when completed.
The Senator also told NAN that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration inherited N88 billion liabilities from ongoing dam projects across the country.
He said the liabilities were indicated in the audit report of the Ministry of Water Resources made available to his committee.
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He said that the projects, at various stages of completion, were awarded by previous administrations.
According to him, 25 per cent of such ongoing projects had been injected into 2017 budget presented to the National Assembly.
The Chairman emphasized the present administration’s commitment to the development of dams across the country to boost agriculture.
NAN
