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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Minister of Works, Mr. David Umahi, has directed that the contractor rehabilitating Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway (CCECC) be issued a 14-day notice of contract termination for poor job.
He gave the directive during a routine supervision of ongoing road projects within South South and South East at the weekend.
He further directed that the Port-Harcourt-end of the project be descoped and re-awarded to a competent contractor.
“If you get to Port-Harcourt end of the road, which they did about two years or thereabout, the entire road has almost totally failed. We have been writing them to maintain this road. They have refused, and so I have to take responsibility and take decision. Number one, the Port Harcourt-end is descoped, and no longer going to be done by CCECC.
I will direct the Ministry of Works to scout for very qualified indigenous contractors to handle the Port-Harcourt end of the project.
“They should be the contractor that will start work immediately while we sort out funds for them. Number two, for the site handled by CCECC, they should issue them 14-days notice of termination of contract. And I want this directive to go very wide. After 14-days, if they fail to mill out the binder and replace it properly- the contract will be terminated; they have to initiate it; they have to commit to doing that. Even if they are going to do it during the dry season, they have to maintain the ones that they have done and put in writing that they’re going to mill out the binder at their own cost, and then be able to put a new binder, which we have paid for,” he said.
He reiterated that putting binder for a stretch of the project without putting wearing is unacceptable.
In another development, the Minister commended the quality of work on the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway, section II – Umuahia Tower-Aba Rail/ Road crossing in Abia State.
In a statement made available to Daily Sun, the Minister explained that the 56-km inherited ongoing project was noted to have reached 85 per cent completion.
“They are one of our best. We also want them to maintain the section from Aba to Umuahia, the. So they’re working very hard. The controller is also doing very well. I want the controller to visit all the projects of the Federal Government in Abia State. He should be able to visit all the projects in Abia State at least once a week, so that if there is a problem of impending danger, impending problem of cost, you let us know” he said
Umahi further noted the terrible situation of inherited road projects nationwide, which are all receiving priority intervention by the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While thanking the president for the encouragement given to the Federal Ministry of Works to turn around the road development trajectory of Nigeria, Umahi said that in Nigeria, all the roads became a priority because of the terrible situation of the roads the president inherited.
“But he’s doing his best. And we are also working with him to offer our best in the country. We feel so bad when our people can’t move from one point to the other all over the country. I feel so sad. That is usually my lowest moment. But, I’m still encouraged with the support the president is giving on roads and bridges because that is the basis of economic activities, and I think that we are very lucky to have him because the economy is breaking now. We are the third largest growing economy in the whole world. So we will get there,” he noted.
