The Federal Government on Wednesday said it will spend about N76 billion to fix collapsed portions of roads across the country ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Director of Highway Construction and Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Works and Housing, Folorunso Esan, said this was to ease movement of people and goods.

Mr Esan said the rainy season had affected many sections of roads across the country, hence the need for urgent palliative works to avoid further deterioration.

He said the roads have been identified and mapped out, adding that contracts for the repairs would be awarded to contractors as part of preparation for the ember months.

Mr Esan disclosed this in Abuja at the meeting of stakeholders in the transport sector. According to him, the total cost for the repair works is N75,765,087,178.28.

At the meeting, the works and housing minister, Babatunde Fashola, said part of the solutions being considered by the government was to move cargos by rail.

“The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is making efforts to ensure that overloaded trucks no longer ply the nation’s highways,” Mr Fashola said.

According to him, “the government is building the Kano, Lagos and the Abeokuta pipeline” to have petrol and timber go on railway to relieve pressure on the road.

(NAN)