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3 weeks ago
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Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has given Julius Berger Nigeria PLC an order to complete the 9.7km Ogbakiri Town (Clan) road project within eight months.
The governor said the socio-economic importance of the road to the people could not be overemphasised.
The construction company had been having a rough time with the Federal Government over the contract sum and extended completion deadline as the Abuja-Kaduna road earlier awarded was revoked on Monday.
On Tuesday, Fubara undertook an inspection ride on the road to the waterside and asked the construction giant to deliver it in eight months.
The road dualisation project begins from the Emohua spur on the East-West Road-Tema Junction, connecting about six communities within Ogbakiri Town and terminates at the waterside of Egbelu-Oduoha-Ogbakiri communities.
Fubara said his administration awarded the project at the cost of about N15bn and had paid a 30 per cent mobilisation fee to provide the people with a motorable road.
He said, “If you could see, when we were coming in, at the centre of the road, the other side that leads to Tema in Kalabari, Julius Berger has already taken up that stretch.
“And we felt it will be proper for them to also extend the good work they did in that other side to this side of the road so that there will be uniformity.
“For that reason, we awarded this job to them, and we have also paid them 30 per cent mobilisation, which is N4.5bn. The total cost of this job is about N15bn.
“Last week, we paid 30 per cent for them to commence work on it. They have also assured us that in eight months, this project will be delivered.”
He noted that the plan in the offing was to connect the road with a river crossing bridge to some riverine communities on the other side from the Egbelu-Oduoha-Ogbakiri communities.
He said, “We made a promise to our people that we will continue to embark on projects that will touch their lives.
“This is not a 1km road. It is not a 2km road. It is a 9.7km road at the cost of about N15bn. So, you can imagine what we are doing to better the lives of the people here.
“I personally came to the waterfront to see what we could do to connect the other side of the river to this side. But we are working on it.
“Let us see by the time we are done with this, we will now decide on what to do about that,” he said.
The governor also stopped by the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic at Rumuola, near Port Harcourt where several projects, including the Entrepreneurship Centre, Staff Office and Senate Building, were ongoing.
He expressed delight at the progress made so far and commended the chairman and members of the governing council for their commitment to changing the narrative at the institution.
