The construction of Sections 3b and 4 of the Akwa Ibom section of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would kickstart by August 2024, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, said.
This is one of the President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope signature projects to touch people at the grassroot.
Speaking at a Stakeholders’ Engagement on the alignment of Sections 3b and 4 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on Saturday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Umahi explained that the routes in Akwa Ibom have two sections, 27 and 80 kilometers, totaling 107 kilometres, respectively, which would be about the 4th in length from Lagos to Cross River State.
According to him, “Mr President, Bola Tinubu, graciously directed that Sections 3 and 4 must start in Cross River and Akwa Ibom. That is why we are here to introduce the routes in Akwa Ibom. Incidentally, the routes have two sections: Section 3b, which is 27 km, and Section 4, which is 80 km. So, on the whole, Akwa Ibom is benefitting from 107 km, which is about fourth in length all the way from Lagos to Cross River.
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‘‘When we conclude procurement and award these Sections 3 and 4, work will commence simultaneously in August.”
Umahi, however, warned contractors against undue delay in the execution of projects, saying that the federal government would not hesitate to terminate the contract if the contractor was not up and doing and re-award the same to another credible contractor immediately.
He regretted that such construction giants as Julius Berger, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company, and the Reynolds Construction Company have failed to deliver on their projects despite the large sums sunk in by the government.
He warned that if the trios fail to mobilize to the site by next week, they would risk termination of their contracts.
Umahi expressed disappointment that the contractors have been giving excuses of non-payment of compensation as reasons for not mobilizing to the site, while noting that the Akwa Ibom State government had already settled the compensation issues as it concerns the Calabar-Itu road.
The Minister noted that the federal government has set up modalities to support local contractors to compete with the expatriate contractors, saying that the government would no longer condone any form of sharp practices or games that would subject the people or road users to untold hardship.
The Senator said, “Mr President has given enough money to fund the projects. The same thing with Julius Berger, by the end of this coming week, if Julius Berger fails to remobilize to the site and the CCECC fails to mobilize to at least three sections of the road, the jobs will be terminated.
“The worst of the roads in the entire South-South remains this Akwa Ibom to Cross River through Itu and Odukpani, and also the section that is being done by RCC. RCC had collected over N40 billion on that road, 15 kilometers of roads, N156 billion inherited from the past administration, they are playing tricks. We have been working on them to change their mindset, and by the end of next week, our 14-day notice of termination of the contract will elapse, and we will terminate the projects and give them to those who have mastery of laying concrete.”
Also speaking during the Stakeholders’ meeting, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, called on the state governor, Umo Eno, and all the stakeholders to show maximum cooperation to the contractors when the project kicks off.
Akpabio commended President Tinubu for listening to his plea to ensure that the Coastal Highway passes through Akwa Ibom State and for the construction to be carried out at the same time as the Lagos section so it would be completed in record time.
He sought cooperation from the benefitting communities, assuring that there would be many fall-outs for people to benefit from.
In his remarks, Akwa Ibom Governor, Umo Eno, who stated that his government had paid compensation with regards to the Calabar-Itu Road, assured that his administration would give adequate support in terms of security and other logistics to ensure the completion of the road in record time.
In an interview with one of the stakeholders at the meeting, Chief Nduese Essien, the PDP Political leader of Eket told Straightnews that he was shocked seeing the Federal Government bringing such a massive project to the state.
‘‘I am in doubt if the government would be able to complete the project within the specified timeframe. It looks ambitious to me because of what I saw in the slide rolled by a projector.
The project will pass through Atabrikang, Urue Ita, Nsie, Ndon Ebom to link the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Federal Highway. It is a six-lane route with rails to pass through all our swamps.’’
Meanwhile, on Sunday, June 30, 2024, the Works Minister, alongside Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu and other key attendees, will discuss the proposed alignment of Section 3A of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and a 92 km segment of the Calabar-Southeast-North Central-Apo Abuja Superhighway passing through Cross River State.
These road infrastructure projects, once completed, will create historic national interconnectivity, linking major transportation routes across Northern and Southern Nigeria, the statement noted.
The construction of the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway began in March 2024, awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement, where most risks are borne by the contractor, with the federal government providing counterpart funding.
The first phase, stretching 47.7 kilometres from Eko Atlantic to Eleko in Lagos State, marked the project’s commencement.
