The Second Niger Bridge, initially billed for completion last month, but now rescheduled for October this year, has cost the Federal Government about N400 billion, in addition to the N10 billion committed into the project by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Disclosing this, yesterday, in Asaba, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said contrary to insinuations, the project is being funded 100 per cent by the Nigerian government.

A director in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, who is representative engineer for the Second Niger Bridge, Adeyemo Ajani, had earlier told the CoS and his entourage that the 1.6km bridge across the River Niger, linking the South East with the South South and South West, which started in September 2018, “has reached 83 per cent completion” and would now be ready for use from October this year.

N400 Billion is almost $1billion

.....Let see the costs of other bridges around the world. Judge for yourself if our government are terrible fraudsters or not.

Golden Gate Bridge, USA: $704.9 million

As San Francisco started to sprawl into a major city, it became clear that a lack of quick transport services was holding back what would become the Golden City, and so a bridge was designed. With a main span of 4,200 feet (1.28km), San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world from its completion in 1937 until 1964. The iconic crossing cost a total of $39 million in 1937, the equivalent of $704.9 million (£536m) nowadays, which was actually under budget.

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, USA: $900M

This 1,546-foot (471m) beauty spans the Cooper River in South Carolina. A rarity for mega-projects such as this, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge was completed one year ahead of schedule in 2005, at a cost of approximately $675 million, which is around $900 million (£684m) today.

George Washington Bridge, USA: $935M

The George Washington Bridge linking Manhattan and New Jersey is the world's busiest motor vehicle crossing. Before the pandemic it carried as many as 104 million vehicles per year. The bridge was built at the start of the Great Depression for around $60 million, a hefty $935 million (£714m) in today’s money.

Confederation Bridge, Canada: $971 million

Canada's Confederation Bridge links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick and is the longest bridge in the world that crosses ice-covered water. Ferries had long connected the two land masses, but difficult conditions meant that building a fixed link took more than a century from proposal to when the Confederation Bridge was completed. The crossing has boosted the economy of the island greatly since it was completed in 1997 at a cost of CA$840 million, which is the equivalent of CA$1.27 billion ($971 million/£738m) in today's money.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge (eastbound), USA: $987 million

On North America's west coast, the twin suspension Tacoma Narrows Bridge spans the Tacoma Narrows strait of Washington's Puget Sound. The original bridge opened in 1940, but collapsed just months later during a windstorm due to the bridge’s elastic instability, known as aeroelastic flutter. A replacement bridge was then built in 1950 and, given its popularity, it was decided that a second, eastbound bridge should be added. The second stretch was completed in 2007 and had a construction bill totalling $786 million, which is the equivalent of $987 million (£754m) in today’s money.

Russky Bridge, Russia: $1.1 billion (£840m

With its central, cable-suspended stretch spanning 1.16 miles (1.87km), Russky Bridge in Vladivostok, Russia is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The bridge has a total length of 1.9 miles (3.1km). It was built as Russia prepared to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference on Russky Island in September 2012, but has been tragically underused since then. The record-breaking bridge is capable of carrying 50,000 vehicles a day, but is only used by a few thousands cars and tourist buses as development of the island into a tourist hotspot stalled after the 2012 conference. The bridge, which is something of a white elephant, cost $1.1 billion

Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, Malaysia: $1.1 billion

The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, also known as Penang Second Bridge, stretches an impressive 15 miles (24km), making it the longest bridge in Malaysia and one of the longest in southeast Asia. The bridge connects Penang Island to the Malaysian mainland, encouraging tourism and boosting the area’s economy. After starting building work in 2008, the bridge opened in 2014 and cost 4.5 billion Malaysian Ringgit to construct, which is the equivalent of $1.1 billion (£840m) today.

Are the Nigerians building something like this...this is a whooping 24km bridge.

Runyang Yangtze River Bridge, China: $1.3 billion

Over the past 15 years China has led the world in grandiose bridge projects such as Runyang Yangtze River Bridge, which also opened in 2005. This complex of two bridges that cross the Yangtze River near Nanjing cost 5.8 billion Yuan at the time, which is the equivalent of 8.7 billion Yuan ($1.3bn/£1bn) today

Tsing Ma Bridge, Hong Kong: $1.3 billion

Hong Kong's Tsing Ma Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world that carries both road and rail traffic at 4,518 feet (1.38km) and connects central Hong Kong with Hong Kong International Airport. The multitasking crossing was completed in 1997 at a cost of HK$7.2 billion, which is the equivalent of HK$10.2 billion ($1.3bn/£1bn) today. It was two decades before experts found that miscalculations on the bridge’s height had caused billions to be lost in revenue as taller ships were being directed through other channels unnecessarily.

Bang Na Expressway, Thailand: $1.5 billion

At 34 miles (55km) the Bang Na Expressway in Thailand was the world's longest bridge from 2000 until 2004. The bridge runs over land – essentially an elevated six-lane highway – and is a toll road that makes up part of the National Highway route 34. Building costs for the structure amounted to around $1 billion back in 2000, the equivalent of $1.5 billion (£1.2bn) today.

When Thailand spent 1.5Billion dollars they built 55km Expressway on a bridge....an elevated six lane highway fa

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, China: $1.5 billion

Also known as the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, the bridge over China’s Jiaozhou Bay is the longest to run entirely over water and covers a total of 26.4 miles (42.49km). The bridge connects the port city of Qingdao to Huangdao Island and is estimated to have cut travel time in half. Completed in 2011, the extra-tough structure has been built to withstand major earthquakes, intense typhoons and the impact of a 300,000-tonne vessel. It cost more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5bn/£1.2bn).

When China decided to spend $1.5B they built the longest bridge that runs entirely on water 42.49km

you cant compare how much bridges cost abroad with the price they cost in Nigeria.... thats insane!

here is a simple clue: both countries have different petrol prices (that construction machine use), both countries have different prices for workforce; both countries have different policies when it comes to such infrastructures; both countries have different work ethics etc; both countries have different government.

MrBrownJay1:
you cant compare how much bridges cost in aboroad with the price they cost in Nigeria.... thats insane!

here is a simple clue: both countries have different petrol prices (that construction machine use), both countries have different prices for workforce; both countries have different policies when it comes to such infrastructures; both countries have different work ethics etc; both countries have different government.

All you are saying here is one word...Corruption! Which means a 1.6km bridge will cost just as much as 55km bridge in Thailand, insane.

splashbaby:
All you are saying here is one word...Corruption! Which means a 1.6km bridge will cost just as much as 55km bridge in Thailand, insane.

not at all...corruption is just one part of it, unless you believe there is no corruption in Thailand, lol! in other countries, they can easily get "cheaper" labour, cheaper material, cheaper professionals, and also cheaper land... thus the building may cost less than in Nigeria.

MrBrownJay1:


not at all...corruption is just one part of it, unless you believe there is no corruption in Thailand, lol! in other countries, they can easily get "cheaper" labour, cheaper material, cheaper professionals, and also cheaper land... thus the building may cost less than in Nigeria.

All these things you mentioned are even cheaper here in Nigeria except for some few Items. Labor is far cheaper here, Remember minimum wage is 30k.

The price of diesel in international market is $1.23 per liter which is N525. It’s now N625 per liter in Nigeria, so difference is not astronomical.

Materials like cement on international market is like $210 per metric tons which translates to roughly N4300 per bag of cement which is almost the price here in Nigeria. Metals, fittings and chemicals like retarders, joint are marked with international price which other countries also use.

Asphalts, gravel are even cheaper here. Land for burrow pits and other construction use are far cheaper here also especially when dollar rate are applied.

Diesels in international markets is $1.23 per liter which is N525 per liter and a liter in Nigeria today is N625 per liter which is just N100 difference. Besides petroleum is subsidized and we are not using any international price.

Prices for heavy duty equipment are the same worldwide, freight and customs duty are just the difference. Most manufacturers will freight at cheaper rate for bulk purchase while most construction companies like Julius Berger enjoy custom duty waivers on most of their construction equipment.

you gotta open your mind... we are talking of Thailand right?!

splashbaby:
The price of diesel in international market is $1.23 per liter which is N525. It’s now N625 per liter in Nigeria, so difference is not astronomical.

diesel in Thailandi scheaper than in Nigeria...today its at 75cent a liter....now times that with the 10/100s of thousands that will be needed to power the machines/gens etc for a few yrs til the bridge is finished.

Materials like cement on international market is like $210 per metric tons which translates to roughly N4300 per bag of cement which is almost the price here in Nigeria. Metals, fittings and chemicals like retarders, joint are marked with international price which other countries also use.

bag of cement in Thailand cost 4usd aka 2k Naira.... and if you believe that land is automatically cheaper in Nigeria then i guess you dont understand the system. my point is that i could go on and on to show you that as much as Nigeria is cheap, dont automatically assume that everywhere is more expensive than Nigeria for construction.

btw if you want to discover a corrupt country, then Thailand is the perfect example.

MrBrownJay1:
you gotta open your mind... we are talking of Thailand right?!



diesel in Thailandi scheaper than in Nigeria...today its at 75cent a liter....now times that with the 10/100s of thousands that will be needed to power the machines/gens etc for a few yrs til the bridge is finished.



bag of cement in Thailand cost 4usd aka 2k Naira.... and if you believe that land is automatically cheaper in Nigeria then i guess you dont understand the system. my point is that i could go on and on to show you that as much as Nigeria is cheap, dont automatically assume that everywhere is more expensive than Nigeria for construction.

btw if you want to discover a corrupt country, then Thailand is the perfect example.

Diesel in Thanland is $0.90
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Thailand-keeps-diesel-price-cap-despite-crude-oil-surge

There may be various prices relating to several materials but the difference should not be outrageous like we have now