Federal Government of Nigeria says it has begun the construction of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway using concrete technology
The Minister of Works, David Umahi who made this known in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Orji Uchenna, in Abuja, on Thursday, warned contractors handling various road projects against anyform of delay in delivery of the projects to government
Edu-Biznews recalls that the Federal Executive Council had a week ago
approved a contract worth N1.067 trillion for the first phase of the highway’s construction.
The Works Minister explained that it forms part of the 700km road spanning nine states, with two spurs leading up north
He said the highway to be constructed using concrete technology would start from Lagos through the nine coastal routes or states up to Cross Rivers, meaning that it will go through Lagos, the Lekki Deep Seaport, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.
Though the project was initially franchised on a public-private partnership, the paucity of funds on the contractor’s part made the minister to seek FEC approval to award the project.
The minister had on Tuesday initiated a discussion with the African Development Bank on possible financing mechanisms to hasten the delivery of the project.
Umahi in the statement noted that the contractor, Hitech Construction Company Ltd began the project after the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometres of dual carriageway with five lanes on each side of the road and rail track in the middle
Umahi who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Olukorede Keisha, stressed the need for contractors handling Federal Government road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow delays or slow pace once mobilisation has taken place.
He, however, commended very highly Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Limited for being reputable for quality and speedy delivery of jobs.
He acknowledged their efforts in starting work immediately after the contract was awarded.
“They have completed some filling of 1.3 kilometres from the day the project was awarded to them. It shows the speed they are going to deploy this project. Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometres of section one of the phase," he stated
According to the statement, the Minister visited project sites at the Queen’s Drive Ikoyi, Third Mainland Bridge top deck, the underwater, the Eko Bridge and the Carter Bridge and expressed the determination of the Federal Government to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation of the bridges which he said were critical links between the Mainland and the Island of Lagos, the economic hub of the country.
"These repairs are expected to cover not only the top of the bridge but also the under-bridge works", he added
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