It said on Sunday that the bid would be witnessed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and other interested partners and stakeholders.

The 12 roads that are up for concession under the first phase of the HDMI include Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kaduna-Kano, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, Shagamu-Benin, and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga federal highways.

Others include Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, Lagos-Badagry, and Kano-Shuari-PortisKum-Damaturu roads.

Recall that Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, received the Certificate of Compliance for the Outline Business Case for the HDMI in December 2020, followed by the official inauguration of the e-portal by the minister on March 29, 2021.

Spokesperson for the works ministry, Boade Akinola, said in a statement issued in Abuja that applications were received from interested prospective concessionaires in response to the request for qualification and the bid would be opened on June 1, 2021.

The Highway Development and Management Initiative was created by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to develop and manage the federal road network through private sector investment, maximising the use of assets along the right of way.

The ministry said the initiative aimed at creating an alternative source of financing road development and management across the country while unlocking the massive economic potential of the project routes with attendant job creation.

Source: PUNCH