By Hosea Parah
The Federal Government is set to deploy, at least, 250 solar-powered intelligent gantries across Nigeria as part of a new transport intelligence system designed to improve road safety, traffic management, security, and data-driven planning.
The development is a major component of the Smart National Transport Databank (SNTDB), a project being spearheaded by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
The project implementation committee was inaugurated on Tuesday in Abuja by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr Funsho Adebiyi.
The proposed intelligent gantries will be equipped with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technologies to support the collection and management of real-time transport information.
According to the Director-General and Chief Executive of NITT, Dr Bayero Salih Farah, FCILT, the system is expected to serve as a national transport intelligence infrastructure capable of supporting road safety, security, infrastructure development, regulation and effective planning.
Beyond the gantries, the project will feature Traffic Management Centres across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, alongside a Main Data Centre, Electronic Tagging (E-Tag) ecosystem, database integration, real-time data analytics and cybersecurity infrastructure.
Farah said the components would be introduced in phases to establish an integrated national transport intelligence system.
The initiative is expected to address longstanding challenges associated with fragmented transport information by creating a centralised platform through which relevant agencies can access reliable and timely data for decision-making.
Speaking at the inauguration, Adebiyi said the project would strengthen evidence-based decision-making and enhance coordination among government agencies and stakeholders in the transport sector.
He recalled that the establishment of a national transport databank was approved at the 12th National Council on Transportation in 2012, with NITT mandated to develop the system.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed that the Federal Executive Council had approved the project under a 20-year Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) Public-Private Partnership concession to Asia-Arab Investment Nigeria Limited.
The implementation committee comprises representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, NITT, Federal Road Safety Corps, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Federal Ministry of Works, Office of the National Security Adviser and the concessionaire, among other stakeholders.
The committee will monitor implementation, project milestones, financial and governance accountability, as well as coordinate participating agencies and address challenges that may arise during execution.
The Ministry said the project would ultimately provide government, transport operators and the public with a more secure and integrated transport information system capable of supporting better planning and service delivery.