Umahi Reveals Money Needed To Reconstruct 260 Roads Across Nigeria
According to David Umahi, the minister of works, the nation needs to spend N217 billion to rebuild 260 roads and 8 bridges.
Inaugurating four road project committees on Thursday in Abuja, the minister made this disclosure
He claimed that the committees were being established in order to maintain the road and make sure that contractors carried out the agreements made.
The committees are responsible for overseeing the dualization of Section III of the East-West Road in Port Harcourt (Eleme Junction) and the Benin-Warri Dual Carriageway (Sections I, II, and III).
“The directors in this ministry met, and we agreed to constitute a taskforce that will be resident in these locations for efficient supervision.
“They will redesign the roads to meet the site situations, and article two of the contract we signed under section 51 of the General Conditions of the contract gives us the permission and legal right to redefine the projects.
“Which means we can rescope the projects and quality, we are leveraging on that to save our people from the hardship. We will use one foot thick concrete to rebuild the road. We are already working on the bills to redefine it,” the minister said.
According to Umahi, the highways connecting Eleme and Onne Port as well as Benin and Warri are receiving substantial attention from the Federal Government.
“Let me graciously announce that the ministry contacted Mr President on 260 projects that need very immediate and quick intervention across the federation.
“The projects are from the motions of the National Assembly, outcry of the public and compilations from controllers of our states and the total cost is N217 billion.
“We have sent it to Mr President and the National Assembly is aware and he has directed that we submit at FEC for discussions,” he said.
He continued by saying that President Tinubu is devoted to improving the country’s road infrastructure and that roads are crucial for revolutionising the nation’s trade, education, security, and electricity.
Regarding the president’s approval of funding, the former governor of Ebonyi stated that money had been set aside for the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos’s reconstruction
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, Gives Contractors 2-Week Ultimatum to Complete Road Projects
“Last week, we had a lot of failures on our East-West Road between Warri and Cross Rivers,” the minister said, lamenting the breakdowns of several segments of the East-West Road.
“We had 12 points that totally collapsed, and if we have another flood, the entire section may collapse. Three bridges totally collapsed, and we have to reconstruct all of those roads.”
