Emergency centres ready by Dec - NCC

The Federal Government will take delivery of some Emergency Communications Centers (ECC) at the end of the year, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that work had reached advanced stage on the centers, which contract was approved by the Federal Executive Council in February this year.

“Work is progressing on the buildings, and the electronic system has been ordered. Those supplying them will soon start delivering them. By God’s grace, by the end of the year, we will inaugurate some of the centers, because all over the country, we did not have the benefit of having land, and the response from state governments was not as fast as we had expected,” he said.

Ndukwe said that some of the centres will be achieved before the others, “but by the first quarter of next year, nearly all locations would have been covered.’’

NAN reports that FEC had approved contracts worth more than N2.4 billion for the construction of buildings for emergency communications centers in all the 36 states and FCT.

The centers are to receive emergency calls, through a dedicated 3-digit toll-free number from any of the national telecommunications networks.

The contract for the supply and installation of communications infrastructure at the 37 centers was awarded to Messrs Huawei Technologies Ltd at $13.5 million.

The project is expected to improve security in the country.

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