By GARBA MUHAMMAD, Kaduna

The Kebbi State Government in collaboration with World Bank will expend the sum of $43 million to build six modern markets and construction of rural roads across the state, an official has said.

Alhaji Abdullahi Maigari, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Birnin Kebbi.

The construction work which is under Kebbi State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (Kebbi RAMP) is expected to last six years.

Maigari said the modern markets which would be erected in different parts of the state would consist of shops, storage facilities, wire houses and toilets among others.

He listed the areas where the markets would be cited to include; Gunki in Arewa Local Government, Bunza in Bunza LG, Zuru in Zuru LG, Yauri in Yauri LG, Samanaji in Koko-Bese LG and Dodoru in Gwandu LG.

The commissioner said: “This is to inform our people that the implementation of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Programme (RAMP) has now come to full swing in Kebbi State.

“This is achieved in the state largely due to the commitment and doggedness of His Excellency, the Governor of Kebbi State, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.”

He assured that Kebbi secured the programme following the efforts of the governor in seeing to the agricultural transformation of the state through the provision of access roads for easy transportation of goods and services and well constructed markets for agricultural business transaction.

According to him, the state government had fulfilled all condition for the implementation of the programme in Kebbi State.

“To this effect, the rehabilitation and improvement of 225 kilometers of rural roads distributed across the state will be done as first phase and within two years of commencement of this programme.

“This will be from the 450 kilometers of rural roads already earmarked,” he noted.

He said the roads would be rehabilitated as an intervention, adding that it would be done by providing quality road projects with culverts and drainages.

Maigari added that there would also be other road construction work that would take place in the state consisting of routine maintenance of about 700 kilometers cutting across all the 21 local government areas of the state.

The commissioner assured that dilapidated roads would also be repaired, regraded, filled with quality laterite materials and construction of culverts and river crossing drainage structure.

“This work will cover reconstruction and construction of new culverts for connectivity to farmlands and markets, rehabilitation of 200 kilometers of some selected roads across the state and upgrade of 125 kilometers of road from laterite road to asphalt road,” he said.

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