The Second Niger Bridge is a crucial infrastructure project in Nigeria, designed to ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity between the eastern and western parts of the country. It crosses the Niger River, linking Asaba, the capital of Delta State, with Onitsha in Anambra State.
Second Niger Bridge under construction.
Project Components and Design
The Second Niger Bridge is divided into four distinct components:
- Asaba Road Section: 2.8 km in length
- Toll Plaza Section: 1.5 km in length
- Bridge Section: 1.59 km in length
- Onitsha Road Section: 7 km in length
Phase 1 access routes total 9.8 km. The structure itself is 1,590 m long in total, consisting of two parallel prestressed concrete box girder bridges, each 14.5 m wide. The current bridges will have a length of 630 m with 5 spans with span widths of 150 m maximum. The western ramp bridge will be 755 m long and the eastern ramp bridge will be 205 m long.
The bridge features six lanes of traffic (3x3). It is designed with an average lifespan of 50-60 years. The road will be tolled with a 25-year concessionaire term, managed by a consortium comprised of NSIA, NMIC, and Julius Berger, in partnership with FMW Nigeria.
Read also: Buying a Used Africa Twin
LATEST AERIAL VIEW OF THE SECOND NIGER BRIDGE
Historical Context
The need for a second bridge over the Niger River was recognized decades ago. In 1987, after warning about the state of the existing River Niger Bridge by the then Minister for Works and Housing Abubakar Umar, General Ibrahim Babangida challenged the local engineers to design The Second Niger Bridge, rising to the challenge, The Nigerian Society of Engineers called NSE Prems Limited, which subsequently delivered a masterplan. Upon the return to civilian rule, President Olusegun Obasanjo promised to deliver a second Niger River bridge. The incoming administration effectively inherited a ₦58.6 billion proposed cost for a six lane, 1.8 km tolled bridge, which was to be completed in three-and-half years.
Under the subsequent military governments, the projects received little attention. During the 2011 Nigerian general election campaign period, Jonathan promised that if elected, he would deliver the project before the end of his term in 2015.
Funding and Construction
The Second Niger Bridge (a 1.6km river crossing six lane tolled bridge with a total project length of 11.9km including the ancillary roads) was awarded to Julius Berger by the Nigerian government and started in 2015. The project is currently a collaboration by the Ministry of Works and the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) managed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). The project was funded through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) created by President Muhammadu Buhari and managed by the NSIA.
In 2015, the bridge was then redesigned to bring it up to modern and efficient standards; adding an extra lane and bypasses plus a tolling plaza to make the bridge sustainable after construction; in line with the new policy of tolling certain bridges and highways nationwide.
Note that the entire Second Niger Bridge project is to cost ₦206.2 billion. All required necessary steps and methods were followed to properly initiate the project. Project initiation involves defining the project objective and output. This was done to avoid overruns and delays. Feasibility studies were carried out including defining the expectations and cost implications. A risk and change management framework was also put in place. Guide similar to the "five case study model" was also implemented by the planners that looked into the strategic case, the economic case, the commercial case as well as the management case.
Read also: Learn about the religious movement that resonated with enslaved African Americans.
Challenges and Considerations
An interesting challenge that this bridge faces is that beyond phase 1 (which includes the construction of the bridge and right of way), there will need to be additional access ways/connecting roads built in phase 2. Approximately 30 kilometres of access roads will need to be built for the ongoing project.
Furthermore the concessionaire period is 25 years, which means that financing the maintenance of this bridge, will be a subject for decades to come. It should be noted, that even its sister bridge - the Niger Bridge is in dire need of maintenance. Which means that maintenance costs for this bridge, beyond the design period will be quite high.
Benefits
The benefit however is that the Onitsha - Owerri expressway will avoid a bottleneck, which would have been the case had all the volumes of traffic been concentrated in one point. Another benefit is that by distancing both bridges, pressures on the urban centres will be reduced and there will be a logical toll-free alternative route.
Project Timeline and Costs
Project commenced in May 2015, one year after it was signed with an estimated budget of ₦108 billion and the Federal Government has as at then committed ₦18.31 billion before its review. The project was reviewed and in 2018 it was re-estimated to cost ₦206.2 billion and as at 2022 the government has spent ₦157 billion. This time, the government plans to sponsor the entire project.
The project which was initially scheduled to be completed in 4 years, after 4 years it has seen an increase of almost double the initial cost estimate and the government says 95% has been completed as at October, 2022 and has rescheduled it to be fully completed in May, 2023. This project glaringly has a case of optimism bias as the initial schedule has been exceeded and even the cost has doubled at an estimated 95% project completion.
Read also: 2nd Dress Styles for Nigerian Weddings
Opening to Traffic
On December 15, 2022, at 9:50 local time, the bridge was opened to local traffic. Since not all connecting roads have been completed yet, makeshift roads have been created to allow the bridge to be used during the Christmas holidays.
Stakeholders
Key stakeholders involved in the Second Niger Bridge project include:
- Government Executive Power
- Public Agency
- Assembly Legislative Power
- Regulatory Body
- Construction Firms
- Process and Manufacturing Corporations
Financing and Contracting Structure
In 2014, the Nigerian government and the principal contractor signed a contract with the Nigerian government as the Client/Sponsor and Julius Berger consortium as the principal contractor/sponsor. This was reviewed in 2018 and left the Nigerian government as the sole sponsor. The contract highlighted the general obligations of the two parties and their plan on how to develop this major project. The Federal Government of Nigeria is responsible for 100% of a total cost of ₦206.2 billion.
Significance
The Niger is the third longest river in Africa after the Nile and the Congo. It moves 7,000 m3/s water at Onitsha, which is more than a hundred times as much as the Thames in London (65 m3/s) and almost three times as much as the Missouri river (2,450 m3/s) before reaching St. Louis. The Niger also separates Nigeria's populous southwest from the oil-rich southeast.
When completed, it will be the last bridge over the Niger River before it branches into its delta arms. The phrase Second Niger Bridge, may sound misleading as there are already seven major bridges over the Niger in Nigeria alone (not to mention in countries like Niger or Benin).
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial Estimated Budget | ₦108 billion |
| Re-estimated Cost (2018) | ₦206.2 billion |
| Government Spending as of 2022 | ₦157 billion |
| Initial Completion Schedule | 4 years |
| Revised Completion Date | May 2023 |
Popular articles:
tags:
