Anambra State Government has begun payment to an international infrastructure development firm for design of railway masterplan for the state.
Managing Director, State Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Okey Ezeobi, an architect; said this yesterday in Awka at a news briefing ahead of a six-day Capacity Building Series on Theory and Practice of Public Procurement for Local Government Stakeholders.
He said the firm, CPCS Transcom Ltd, based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was chosen among 10 international organisations who applied for the design.
Ezeobi said investors were waiting for the masterplan implementation in view of the bankability and feasibility study on the railway initiative.
He said: “We looked at their track record after considering the technical bids, financial bids, their domestic experience, before arriving at the CPCS.
“It is also instructive to note that the firm has acclaimed Anambra under Governor Chukwuma Soludo, as a forward-thinking state.
“The state has also commenced payment for masterplan design, which will take railway to the boundaries of the state. With the rails, moving containers from the ports will be cheaper and faster.”
Ezeobi said the capacity building series was to entrench accountability and transparency in public funds’ utilisation, in line with Soludo’s vision to ensure adequate value for money.
“The new direction and disruptive change of Soludo’s government is one that will restore public trust, as people are now aware of how their resources are spent.
“Procurement is a process that must reflect accountability and transparency. Local government leadership must be accountable in their handling of public funds,” he added.
Expressing satisfaction with significant improvement the state had recorded in its procurement processes, the BPP boss said plans were on to co-opt local government workers to BPP on ‘secondment’, to ensure proper training in procurement.
