The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on Wednesday disclosed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved to obtain a French Development Agency (AFD) credit of US$60 million for scale up of the Second Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP II) to include Imo State.
Giving briefs on RAMP II, she said “The National Assembly had, in the 2010 External Borrowing Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria, approved AFD’s credit facility of US$60 million to implement RAMP in Imo State.
The development objectives of the project, she said, like the first phase (RAMP I), is to improve transport conditions and bring sustained access to the rural population, through rehabilitation and maintaining key rural transport infrastructure in a sustainable manner in Imo State.
According to her, lack of accessibility, caused by highly deteriorated transport infrastructure, is key determinant of rural poverty and low agricultural productivity.
She also disclosed that the project is designed around three components.
The components, she said, included Upgrading, Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Rural Transport Infrastructure, Community-based road maintenance and mechanized maintenance, and Project Management and Strengthening of Imo State road sector Institutional, Policy and Regulatory Framework.
On the project expectation, she said “RAMP II is expected to achieve an improvement in reducing cost of transportation of both passengers and goods, access to health facilities and improved income from agricultural activities in the affected communities.”
