Edo refinery completes palliative repairs of Benin-Sapele-Warri highway

From Tony Osauzo, Benin 

Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Ltd, has rounded off palliative repairs of failed portions of the Benin-Sapele-Warri highway.

The palliative work was done at various sections of the road. They include Iyanomo, Ekosa, Obayantor, Ologbo and Koko junction in Delta State.

Head of Technical Operations of the Edo Refinery, Segun Okeni, said the intervention was to prevent trucks and heavy-duty vehicles from falling on the road.

He explained that the palliative repairs were to prevent an incident that happened five years ago when an oil tanker carrying PMS fell at one of the bad spots in Ologbo that resulted in a fire that killed over 20 persons.

Okeni said the firm acted promptly to repair the spot after the accident. He said the failed portions have been affecting the firm’s operations as tankers spent days on the highway before gaining access into the refinery to load products.

“Our refinery is just about two kilometers ahead. And this area happens to be part of the area of coverage of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“They approached us to help them fix the failed sections because most of their people cannot go out of the area. Our chairman was around during that period, and he saw the level of damage to the road, and even on that same day, we have like five trucks that fell along the road. He authorised that we should just undertake this.

“It is not directly affecting our production but you know trucks that come for loading at times when the road is blocked they will not be able to access the facility and that can affect our operation”, Okeni added.

Managing Director of SODEOSA Global Resources, the Civil Engineering Firm that executed the palliative repairs, Mr. Solomon Uyiekpen, said commuters experienced suffering on the road before the intervention. He said he collaborated with the Edo Refinery to fix the road as a CSR to the communities around the area.