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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Minister of Works, Nweze Dave Umahi has described as unacceptable a situation where RCC could do a job of N38 billion and demand for a variation on price (VOP) of N14 billion.
Speaking during the Federal Ministry of Works with MTN and RCC Company Nigeria Limited over the slow funding and execution of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway by MTN under the Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment (Tax Credit) Scheme, Umahi said that going forward such indulgence by contractors in the name of inflation would not be tolerated.
He used the medium to call on the manufacturers of cement, which is a key element in the construction industry, especially on the use of Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) to please reduce the cost of cement to N7,000 as the price of dollar has drastically reduced, the cost of petrol is coming down and efforts are being made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fix the road.
“I’m happy that the policies of Mr. President, are working. Today, a dollar is about N1,400. And let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement.Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt. We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000, they increased cement from N7,500. Why should today that the President has brought dollar to stability to about N1400, and is still going down, why should cement be selling for N9,500? We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don’t do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President,” he said.
Also speaking, Minister of State for Works and the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works extolled the stance of the Federal Ministry of Works on the policies that would not only fast-track job execution but also guarantee value for money and quality project outcome. They urged the contractor to co-operate with the new paradigm under the Renewed Hope administration and work towards delivering the Enugu-Onisha dual-carriageway on a record time so that the president could commission it for public use.
