The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, has commenced plans to begin a cashless tolling system on the Abuja-Keffi expressway and the dualised Keffi-Akwanga-Markurdi road.

This was as the Minister of Works, David Umahi, inaugurated a committee to finalise the implementation framework on Thursday in Abuja.

In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Works, Uchenna Orji, said the initiative is part of measures by the current administration to revolutionise road infrastructure development and stimulate economic growth.

The project cost $542m with CHEC handling the road construction while China Exim Bank will provide 85 per cent ($460.8m) of the funding in the form of Preferential Export Buyer’s Credit.

A section of the agreement stated that the company would toll the road and then recoup the money for the government to pay back the loan segment of the project.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony held at the ministry’s headquarters, Umahi said the cashless tolling system is a strategic programme under the Highway Development and Management Initiative aimed at promoting a strong and sustainable transportation ecosystem.

The Minister further urged the committee to utilise the principles outlined in the Terms of Reference to create a comprehensive implementation master plan aimed at achieving the economic and social goals of the Highway Development and Management initiative.

He said the committee working on the terms of reference is expected to develop the cashless tolling system implementation framework, and make appropriate recommendations as to the potentials of relief stations and good physical environment along the corridors and proffer practical solution to the challenges of implementing cashless toll collection in the Nigerian environment.

Umahi added that the initiative is to ensure sustainable private sector investment and improve the quality and quantity of the road assets in Nigeria to propel rapid economic development.

Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Head PPP Unit, Federal Ministry of Works, Mrs Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya, stated that the inauguration was part of the statutory responsibilities of the Federal Ministry of Works which has the mandate to attract private sector funding for the development and management of Federal road network through the Highways Development and Management Initiative.

She said the HDMI is expected to, among others, bring order, accountability, and profitable entrepreneurship to the operations, management, and maintenance of federal highways.

In her acceptance speech on behalf of the committee on the implementation of the Cashless Tolling System, the Chairman of the committee and Head of the PPP Federal Ministry of Finance, Jummai Katagum, promised that her team would deliver.

The committee comprises members drawn from the Federal Ministries of Works, Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Justice as well as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission. The committee has two weeks to submit its report.