The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has said that the construction of the N8bn Kaiama/Kish Road project and the N1.2bn Rore-Ipetu-Aran-Orin Road will commence soon.

In an interview with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, he stated contracts for the two road projects had been awarded.

He said the state government placed priority on road construction because good road network would translate into improved economic activities.

He also said good roads would lead to easy and faster transportation of goods and services.

"The Kaiama/Kishi Road is already being awarded. When we complete its nitty-gritty with the Federal Government, we will start the first phase of the road between Kishi and Kaiama.

"It is a three-phase road, which is almost an N8bn road project. We also have the Rore-Ipetu-Aran-Orin Road, which has also been awarded at the cost of over N1.2bn and will start very soon."

The governor also said, "Adverts for the bidding for contractors to participate in the Kaiama-Kishi Road construction had already been done. This tells you that every process that has been outlined by the Federal Government is being followed to the letter and we will ensure that we get to that level when the contract would be formally awarded.

"Once it is awarded, with or without the Federal Government’s money on ground, we will start that job because we intend to raise money to jump-start the first section of that road. The road has been broken down into three sections. We will start with section one, which is the Kaiama axis," Ahmed said.

The Commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr. Abubakar Kannaike, said the state government had completed major projects in the urban areas at the cost of N6.62bn.

He stated that about 130.23 kilometers of road had been completed in the urban areas in the state.

Some of the projects, according to him are the rehabilitation of 36km Oro-Ijomu Road; rehabilitation of  17km Share-Oke-Ode Road; rehabilitation of 3.96km Road linking Umaru Audi Road/Joseph Ogbeha Road, Government  Reserved Area, Ilorin;  construction/rehabilitation of 4.4km Fate Roundabout/Agric Roundabout; rehabilitation of Henry George Roundabout, Mini Campus-Sawmill Road; and the channelisation of Mubo Street.

Kannaike also stated that 368.65 kilometres of rural roads had been executed at the cost of about N2.18bn.