From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
The Federal Government yesterday said that the 220km Abuja- Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia- Makurdi Road project is 85 per cent funded by the Chinese Export-Import Bank with 15 per cent counterpart funding from Nigeria.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, stated this during an inspection visit to the sections I and II of the ongoing dualisation/expansion of Abuja–Keffi– Akwanga Road construction project.
Fashola was in company of the Minister of State for Works and Housing Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, during the inspection. He said that the quality of road construction across the nation cannot be compromised as the ministry had the manpower and the technical know-how to build good road of international standard.but
“For those who have issues with the borrowing, they can now come and see what it has done. All the people who work here would probably not have work to do if not for the borrowing” Fashola said
In a statement, the project is being implemented by the Road Sector Development Team (RSDT) Unit of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.
The minister noted that all the nation’s highway projects are critical and strategic, describing the Akwanga-Makurdi Road, linking the north central and north east as strategic and as such the Federal Government is doing all that is possible to complete it to standard and not rushing them to avoid shabby work.
“The essence is to make life better for the people, ease traffic flow for the commuters and promote economic activities of the citizens” he stated.
Fashola explained that a lot of activities are involved in road construction, such as excavation, cutting down of trees, relocation of existing structures to have clear access for construction. He noted that during the road construction citizens’ rights are highly considered and their right of ownership protected in terms of compensation and related matters. “We respect human activities along the road. We have to meet them, talk to them and agree with them. We have to remove electrical installations and all that for our work to move on” he said.
Earlier, the Project Consultant informed the Minister that they have made a lot of progress with an aggregate of 45.8 per cent completion of work in Section I (Abuja-Keffi) and 41per cent completion in section II (Keffi-Akwanga).
Breaking down the work progress, the consultant stated that 90 per cent has been achieved in the construction of culverts and drainages, 60 per cent attained in bridges and 40 per cent in the pavement construction.