Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi has said that he saved the country N300 billion by redesigning the bypass of the second Niger Bridge at Onitsha.
The Minister’s Spokesperson, Barr. Uchenna Orji disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Umahi stated that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had expressed commitment to building everlasting road infrastructure with the most effective design at the lowest possible cost.
He said this during an inspection visit to the rehabilitation of Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section IV (Aba-Port Harcourt) handled by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd( CCECC) on Sunday, 24th March 2024.
The Minister who was accompanied by a member of the Senate Committee on Works and Deputy Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, and other leaders across political divides from South East said that some of the ideals in the Renewed Hope mantra under his Ministry include design and cost-effectiveness, speed and standard of job delivery as well as innovations that would guarantee zero maintenance and durability of road infrastructure in Nigeria.
He enjoined contractors to ensure that the roads they were working on were made passable for commuters during the rainy season. He further urged them to always consider the sufferings of the road users as they set up their work plans.
Addressing the CCECC, he said, “we will not accept anything less than two to three sections working and I’ve given seven days for this particular lane, that is, the upper bound lane to be totally repaired, to ameliorate the sufferings of the commuters. I feel for them very highly.
“When you go through this road, you now need to take a number of painkillers. It’s not desirable. So I’m begging CCECC, the controller, and engineers to do everything possible in the next seven days and create a smooth sail on this right-hand side”.
According to the Minister, “we went to Asaba to look at the design of the bypass of the second Niger bridge, and we went to Onitsha. And by that singular movement, we saw that the design was defective and we agreed on a new kind of design. That was how we saved the country over N300 billion by that singular movement to that location.”
Umahi who also visited the Upgrading of the 15km section of the East-West road section III: (Port Harcourt – Eleme Junction to Onne Junction in Rivers State) handled by RCC, the rehabilitation of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway Section 3, Enugu- Lokpanta handled by CGC and the rehabilitation work at the collapsed bridge site at the New Artisan Bridge near NNPC mega fillings station Enugu Capital City, Enugu State, expressed satisfaction with the job being done but charged contractors to step up their pace to cover a milestone ahead of the rainy season.
He said of the project along Eleme refinery road, ” we are upgrading the 15km road between Eleme flyover to Onne junction. We are starting with excavation to fill all the failed sections to make them stable. And when we get to where stable, we build up the boulders. After boulders, we put up sharp sand, and after the sharp sand, we compact.
“After the compaction, we put the first layer of stone base, 20cm first layer that will build up against another 10cm of stone base, we compact. After compacting, we leave it out for the traffic. So that it gets maximum compaction. After that, we put 10 cm with 5% cement to stabilize it and make it very strong. That will make the road very stable and it will last for a long time”, he said.
