The Nigerian government has approved the contract for the completion of the abandoned Kontagora-Auna dam in Niger State, central Nigeria, at the cost of N40.2 billion. Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu revealed this to journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, which was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As part of our efforts to complete abandoned and continue with on-going projects, we presented a memo to the Council towards resuscitating and completing the Kontagora-Auna dam and irrigation project in Niger State. After an audit of projects in the Ministry of Water Resources, this project was ranked as a top priority one, which had attained 61 percent progress before it was abandoned in 2010. So we got Council’s approval for the reviewed cost of the project form N 18.5 billion to N40.2 presently,” he said.
The Minister said the project is meant to boost the irrigation plans of the Federal government, which will help farmers in the area yield more crops.
“It is a project we have accorded high priority because it falls within our National irrigation master plan for the year 2016-2030 in which we are trying to raise the available land for irrigation in this country by additional 100 hectares and for us to achieve that some of these projects have to be completed and be of benefit to the people” he said.
