The dredging of the River Niger is going on as planned and government has no plan to divert any money from the amount meant for the dredging of the river or suspend the dredging work, Minister of Transport Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio has said.

Bio, whose ministry is executing the project, said yesterday at a press briefing that the federal government has no intention of suspending the dredging project because it has already attained more than 60 percent completion.

He said government is very conscious of the economic values of the dredging of the river and will see to its completion.

He said the 572 kilometers length Niger River from Baro in Niger state to Warri in Delta state will continue until it is completed, adding, "The project due to its peculiarities was divided into five lots using natural boundaries. Work on lot 2, from Bifurcation of Nuns River and Forcados to Onitsha and lot 4 from Idah to Jamata are about 80 percent completed. Lot 1, from Warri to Bifurcation of Nuns River and Forcados is currently ongoing and has attained about 40 percent completion. Lots 5 and 3 are ongoing and have not attained required level of performance.

The minister the recent Federal Government commitment of N19 billion to land reclamation and shoreline protection in the communities within the project area was meant to enhance and mitigate environmental impact on the people.

As part of the post amnesty program, the Federal Ministry of Transport had earlier proposed to open channels linking Onyia (Bifurcation) to Brass route in Bayelsa state, Nembe to Port-Harcourt (with spur to Degema) route and Onya to Warri route in Delta state. The purpose of doing these channels linkage is to open the area for movement of bulk Cargo and people since road construction might be challenging within the timeframe.