The Federal Government says projects below five billion naira are now to be awarded to indigenous contractors from 2013.

Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, said at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) in Ilorin yesterday that the measure was aimed at building local capacity as well as promoting local content.

"From 2013, all engineering and construction projects below five billion Naira in the Ministry of Works, will be the exclusive preserve of Nigerian contractors with requisite capability. This measure will help to build local capacity and promote local content", the minister said.

He said government realised that there was need to deploy technological know-how to build and sustain Nigeria's infrastructure, and therefore advised NSE to harness the potentials of science and technology to build infrastructure that would sustain the country's development.

The minister said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring that Nigeria ranked among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.

He, however, called for the involvement of the private sector to develop the country's infrastructure, noting that government alone could not do it.

Onolememen also urged the NSE to launch home grown technology to guarantee sustainable maintenance of key national infrastructure.

NAN