The Enugu State Government has approved N183 billion for the construction of 141 urban roads in Enugu metropolis and 20 rural roads across the state’s three senatorial zones.
Additionally, contracts for 133 new smart schools have been approved, bringing the total to 260, one for each political ward.
These approvals were announced after a State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Peter Mbah at the Government House.
According to Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, these projects align with the governor’s goal to expand the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion, achieve zero poverty, and establish Enugu as a prime destination for business, investment, and tourism within four to eight years.
“Recall that before now, the state’s total budget hovered around N100 billion and N120 billion, with capital expenditure of about N30 billion or capital expenditure to budget ratio of about 25 to 35 per cent.
“However, in keeping with Governor Mbah’s promise to de-risk investments, boost production, and run a lean and prudent government, the governor proposed an unprecedented N521.5 billion 2024 budget, with a capital expenditure totalling over N400 billion, which is an equivalent of capital expenditure to budget ratio of about 80 per cent and recurrent expenditure ratio of about 20 per cent.
“Accordingly, the theme that we took away from Exco today is doubling down. The government is doubling down on infrastructure. If you recall, we started with 71 urban roads and 10 rural roads last year. Now, the governor and the executive council have also approved 141 urban roads and 20 rural roads.
“It is noteworthy that, although, the rural roads are 20 in number, compared to 141 in Enugu metropolis, they are actually more, nearly three times those approved for Enugu urban in terms of kilometres.”
“This is part of the strategies to improve the quality of life in the rural communities and, importantly, to de-risk investments in agriculture. Outside security, which we are effectively dealing with, the big elephant in the room is to scale up the production and movement of produce from farmlands to the market. We also understand the need for processing, hence, the heavy investments in road infrastructure.”
The 2024 budget proposal of N521.5 billion includes over N400 billion for capital expenditures,” Prof. Onyia said.
Onyia also disclosed that, in line with the state’s agricultural and agro-industrialisation efforts, nearly 200,000 hectares have been allocated in the Land Bank for agricultural use, which will benefit from the new rural road infrastructure.
This initiative supports various agricultural projects across the 17 local government areas, enhancing the state’s overall development and investment potential.