President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday commissioned the 2nd Niger Bridge, the 1.6km bridge linking Asaba, Delta State with Onitsha, Anambra State and other South-East States.

President Buhari, who performed the commissioning of the bridge via Zoom said the bridge is one of the critical infrastructures delivered by his administration to fight poverty, promote economic growth and ensure progress for the people.

He noted that the bridge and other projects being commissioned symbolised his administration’s sharp focus on delivering prosperity across the country.

On the naming of the bridge after him, the President said he was not consulted before the bridge was named after him.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, who also joined the event via Zoom, said, “This is a clear case of how infrastructure supports the people. It will take only a few minutes to cross the bridge of approximately 1.5km, travel time is reduced by 50 per cent. By this bridge, various properties in the area have appreciated.”

“After consultation with the state governors and other critical stakeholders, we decided to name the bridge Muhammadu Buhari Bridge.”

In his remarks, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said the bridge would help boost the nation’s economy and ease of doing business between Delta and Anambra states.

Okowa, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Ovie Agas, said that the 2nd Niger Bridge would create jobs and enhance economic growth within the two states.

In his contributions, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, commended Buhari for keeping to his campaign promises of completing and delivering the bridge to the people of South-East.

“I am personally overjoyed. Today is a day of joy, we have come to express our gratitude. History is being made today, the people of the South-East have agitated, and we have complained about five key infrastructure projects.

“These five key projects, which were supposed to be a game changer to the economy of the South-East are the dredging of the River Niger, the second happens to be the 2nd Niger bridge, the third is the expressway that will lead from Anambra directly to Lokoja and the fourth are the gas pipeline and the fifth obviously is the railway line.

“Of these five projects, it is our pleasure that we have come to tick good to one of them and a major one at that, and that is the 2n Niger Bridge.”

Fueled by significant growth in the Saudi travel and tourism sector, air traffic witnessed a strong rebound during the first four months of 2023, recording a 42 percent increase in the number of passengers compared to the same period last year.

According to the latest report issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the number of passengers jumped to 35.8 million in the first four months of 2023, up from 25.3 million during the same period last year.

The Kingdom’s airports also witnessed a marked increase in air traffic during 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels, growing at a rate of 6.2 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Passenger volume reached about 35.8 million compared to the same period in 2019, when it recorded 33.7 million.

The number of flights, on the other hand, increased by 23.5 percent reaching approximately 263,000, up from 212,500 flights during the same period last year.

On the domestic front, the number of passengers increased by 6.7 percent in the first four months of 2023, reaching 16.3 million, up from 15.3 million during the same period last year.

The number of passengers on international flights showed a remarkable jump, surging by 95.5 percent to 19.5 million, up from 10 million passengers in the same period last year.

In a further boost to the aviation industry, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the launch of a new airline, Riyadh Air, which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund.

The Kingdom also achieved another milestone in line with its National Aviation Strategy by launching a project to develop and expand Al-Ahsa International Airport and expand its capacity by 250 percent to reach 1 million passengers annually.

The Kingdom also scored well in the aviation security audit and was placed seventh among the G20 countries in this category.

Douiret, locally known also as Eddwirat or Igherman, is an ancient Berber village that is located in the northern part of the rugged mountainous Tataouine Governorate, within the southern part of the Republic of Tunisia.

As the village is located right next to the modern-day village that has the same name, Douriet in the past was used as a fortified granary, more precisely a storehouse in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed, built on a hilltop so that it would be protected from invading parties.

As the ruins are quite nicely blended with the hilltop, they have been neatly aligned in a meandering fashion along with the rugged cliffs. Its history is not well known, although some sources believe that it was built by the person Ghazi Ben Douaieb Bou Kenana, who migrated to the region more than 600 years ago, quite possibly from the Tafilalet Region from Morocco.

In the middle of 19 century, the population was around 3,500 inhabitants, and it was an important stop for caravans that were traversing the desert.

As the place was quite peaceful, it was later in 1882 transformed into a military administrative authority from where the colonial French forces were ruling the southern part of Tunisia, so that soon after it would be left in favor of the city of Tataouine.

As the colonial forces moved away, the village slowly started to see a decline in its population, where the locals were moving away to the bigger cities, or simply to the foothill, where the new modern-day village of Douriet is located.

By the start of 21 century, the village was completely abandoned and transformed into a ghost town, which nowadays is a popular spot for adventurous tourists.

Today some ruins can be seen in this interesting place, and one of the striking features is the white mosque which is located just below the hilltop, speaking of a time when it was busy with believers praying in its halls.

All in all, facing the destiny that many other villages and settlements have seen throughout the world, the historic village of Douriet is one of the more unique landmarks from the northern part of the Tataouine Governorate, that also deserves to be listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

President Muhammadu Buhari has hailed the Nigerian navy for efficient use of ships, saying, it has significantly helped in the fight against crude oil theft, and piracy among other marine crimes.

Buhari, who spoke at the 2023 presidential fleet review in Lagos, said the achievements of the Nigerian navy were great pride to the country.

Buhari also commended the arraignment and persecution of “mt heroic idun”, after the detection and arrest for attempting to load crude oil at the Bonny offshore in August 2022 without authorisation among others.

On his part, Auwal Gambo, chief of naval staff (CNS), said the induction of the fleet would reduce crimes and boost the socio-economic impact of the country.

Gambo also said the support of the president has made the acquisition of additional vessels as well as several air assets to be possible.

In a move to help Saudi Arabia achieve its sustainability goals, NEOM Green Hydrogen Co. is breaking new ground in order to start the full-time operation of the world’s largest green hydrogen plant in 2026.

CEO of NGHC, David Edmondson, said the company is ready to face any challenges that may arise while building this hydrogen plant which could revolutionize the ongoing energy transition journey.  

“We are building the world’s largest plant to produce green hydrogen at scale. As a first-of-its-kind facility, and with key learnings not available to us with no other similar facilities in the world, we are very much navigating uncharted territory in the green hydrogen and sustainable energy space,” said Edmondson.

He acknowledged that projects of this scale come with challenges but “we have already hired some great talent.”

With the support of its shareholders and commitment from its technology partners, Edmondson said the company is “prepared for any scenario by leveraging the experience and expertise of everyone supporting us on the project.”

The firm behind the mega-plant, which will integrate up to 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce up to 1.2 million tons of green ammonia, achieved the financial closure on the project in NEOM’s industrial city Oxagon at a total investment value of $8.4 billion.

This came after it signed financial documents with 23 local, regional, and international banks and investment firms.

“Together, these banks and financial institutions have committed to funding our investment and, alongside those from across the region and around the world, we are privileged that the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and National Infrastructure Fund are among those supporting us,” added Edmondson.

An equal joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products, and NEOM, NGHC’s mega-plant will produce up to 600 tons per day of carbon-free hydrogen by the end of 2026.