Enugu Acquires Two Coal Corporation Properties

The Enugu State Government has completed arrangements for the acquisition of two properties belonging to the defunct Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC) from the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) at a cost of over N400 million.

The properties are the Colliery Hospital Complex along old Onitsha road New Market at a cost of N238 million and Nigerian Coal Corporation Headquarters alone Okpara Avenue, Enugu at a cost of N200 million.

The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of the State Executive Council Meeting chaired by the State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime also said that approval for the acquisition of the properties was given by the council at the meeting.

Mr. Ugwoke said that on acquisition, government would use the Colliery Hospital Complex as an annex to ESUT Teaching Hospital, dedicated specifically for children and pregnant women under its Free Maternal Child Health (FMCH) Care programme in the state.

According to him, the hospital acquired would help decongest the Teaching Hospital already over-stretched with the influx of patients demanding attention under (FMCH) programme and also serve as a referral centre from District Hospitals in the state on issues of Child and Maternal Health.

The headquarters of the defunct corporation located along Okpara Avenue, on acquisition would be used as offices to mitigate the current acute office accommodation facing some Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state he said.

The Commissioner also told the newsmen that the council approved the award of contract of over N3 billion for the rehabilitation and dualisation of Enugu end and Enugu-Abakaliki road and the Umuabi – Agbudu-Udi – Awgu – Ihe (RAMP) pilot projects road.

He further explained that already the State Government had gotten approval from the Federal Ministry of Works to do the 7.5 kilometers road starting from Abakpa-Nike junction to Akanu Ibiam International Airport fly-over awarded to Arab Contractor at a contract sum of N2.3billion.

Mr. Ugwoke said that although the road is a Federal road, government decided to do it to help reduce traffic bottlenecks experienced at Abakpa junction and Naira Triangle.

On the Umuabi – Agbudu-Udi – Awgu – Ihe road awarded to Zarcus Construction Nigeria Limited at the contract sum of over N854.5million, the Commissioner stated that not minding the fact that it is a (RAMP) pilot project, government decided to asphalt the road as part of its commitments to open up the rural areas of the state.

“In addition, as one of the four participating states in the World Bank financed RAMP pilot project in Nigeria , completion of the roads and others under the programme is one of the Bank’s prequalification condition to participate in RAMP II of the programme”, Ugwoke further stressed.