The groundbreaking ceremony of a super highway conducted by President Muhammadu Buhari at Obung village in Cross River State has kick started the infrastructural projects planned by Governor Ben Ayade.
A deep sea port located around Bakassi waterways and the Atlantic Ocean would be linked to the highway which will stretch 260 kilometres from Cross River to Benue State.
Buhari commended Ayade for thinking of visionary projects that would expand the economic frontiers of state and country and open doors to domestic and foreign markets.
He pledged Abuja’s support for the state government to realise the dream.
“That I am personally here to perform the groundbreaking shows the importance my government attaches to this project, which is a significant milestone in the economic development of not just Cross River State but the entire country,” Buhari said.
“The road will open up a new vista of economic opportunities for Nigeria as it will bring multiplier effects to the economy, and more importantly, this is happening under my presidency.”
He assured Ayade of his commitment and that of the federal government to the completion of the highway and deep sea port projects.
Ayade said “the theological kinetics of this road started with the loss of our oil wells consequent upon the loss of Bakassi, therefore the state was reduced to wants in body and spirit.
“It became imperative that we reconstruct a new means of production, we need to open the horizon to get the teeming young people employed.
“Within the limit of our resources, the projects would have been impossible but because we know that you are the president of all, we know that once we dream, it is your duty to make the dream a reality.
“That is why we dreamt that we need to construct a deep seaport.”
The road, expected to be completed between four and five years, would serve as an evacuation corridor for goods and personnel from the deep sea port in Bakassi in the South to the Northern parts of the country.
Ayade disclosed that the two projects will be executed through the public-private partnership (PPP) with the Bank of Industry and several commercial banks investing 500 million euros in the road construction.
Some residents are sceptical about these latest initiatives because of the abandonment of an existing federal highway, encroachment of the route on a national park, and disruption of port activities in the South West.
However, state Assembly Deputy Speaker, Joseph Bassey, countered that the government will prove the critics wrong.
“We are aware of what is going on. Controversy was expected. We have done our feasibility study and Cross Riverians should be patient to reap the benefits,” he counselled.
The road will have digital internet connectivity all through the 260 kilometres, speed cameras, and toilets, among other facilities.
Governors Udom Emmnauel (Akwa Ibom), Rochas Okorocha (Imo); and former Cross River State Governors, Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke also witnessed the ceremony.