Nigerian Minister of Public Works Dave Umahi has suspended payments to road contractors in the southeast due to the high cost of the projects.
Umahi, former governor of Ebonyi state, revealed this on Thursday in Enugu during his inspection of some ongoing construction and rehabilitation works of federal highways in all the south-eastern states.
Some of the roads inspected included the Ozalla-Akpugo-Amangunze-Isu Onicha road with a spur to Onunwere in Enugu state and the rehabilitation of the old Enugu-Onitsha road.
The projects are run by Arab contractors.
Others included the construction of the Nenwe-Nomeh-Mburubu-Nara road with a branch of the Obeagu-Oduma road, the rehabilitation of the Nsukka-Ikem road in Enugu and the rehabilitation of the Eha Amufu-Nkalagu road in Ebonyi State.
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The minister expressed his surprise that just four bridges and three kilometers cost 15 billion naira.
“I have ordered the directors of the ministry to sit down with the contractors and review it,” he said.
“I strongly believe there is no way the project is going to cost us more than N3 to N4 billion, and when a project is too expensive and the budgeting process is too low, contractors will stay on site for 10 to 15 years. “said the minister.
‘There are no additional projects’
Umahi has also halted additional works on some highway projects in the region pending a review of the contracts.
The minister explained that the cost of the additional projects exceeded the amount budgeted for them.
The highway projects are being financed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“We only have 9.8 billion naira in our budget with NNPCL and we already have a total contract of 23 billion naira. How are we going to do it? So, I order all further spurs and works to stop,” he stated.
saving cost
Umahi ordered contractors running one side of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway to use concrete in the construction of the highway to save costs and ensure its durability.
“I discovered something unprofessional where contractors put a midcoat and leave it up to five or eight years, and within that period, the midcoat fails.
“From now on, no contractor will leave the binder layer for more than a month without covering it because the binder layer admits water that affects the subgrade,” he said.
The minister, an engineer, argued that most of the Nigerian roads were failing mainly due to the poor asphalt that had been laid on them.
“Therefore, the fight to turn to concrete is ongoing and we will not give up until our roads can last 30-40 years without maintenance once built.
“From Enugu Section Three to Port Harcourt Section Three, I have also ordered the second carriage to be made entirely on concrete as we are safer with concrete on south-eastern roads,” he said.