The Federal Government has granted N15 billion as the first payment for the construction of the 15-year-old abandoned national library in Abuja through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The project, which is located on Plot 35, Cadastral Business District, in the Federal Capital Territory, was granted to Reynolds Construction Company in 2006 for N8.9 billion with a four-year completion period during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Because the federal government decided to put new technology into the building, the firm was claimed to have requested an upward revision of the contract.
Former President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration then granted an N18 billion upward review.
However, TETFund stated on its website that it has allocated N15 billion for the construction to begin.
“On our part, we have set aside the first tranche of about N15bn already in our coffers to be deployed as soon as the approval from the revised cost is granted by the Federal Executive Council.” Sonny Echomo, Executive Secretary of TETFund, said.
He stressed the significance of the library, saying that for tertiary education, the library was where research, teaching materials, and resources that both lecturers and students use to better themselves are all deposited for record-keeping purposes.
