•Threatens to sack East West Roads, PH-Aba-Enugu Roads Contractors over delay
EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt
The federal government has assured that the Bonny/Bodo Road project being handled by Julius Berger will be completed and ready for use by September 2025.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi gave the assurance yesterday while addressing Journalists at the project site in Bodo, Gokana local government area of Rivers State, during an inspection tour on some ongoing federal road projects under construction in Rivers and Abia States.
Umahi expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work on the Bonny/Bodo Road, Port Harcourt/Aba/Enugu Road, handled by an Arab Contractor and China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC), and the Ahoada and Eleme sections of the East West Road projects handled by Setraco, Rock Results and Raynoids Construction Company (RCC).
The Minister frowned at the slow pace of work on the projects and non-commitment of the contractors handling the road projects, and the unnecessary excuses they are giving as reasons for the delays, despite receiving various percentages of advance payments.
He issued a final warning to the contractors handling the road projects as well as other federal construction projects across the country to speed up work on site and ensure completion of projects on scheduled dates or face termination of their contracts.
Addressing Julius Berger representatives at the project site in Bodo, Umahi charged the company to ensure that the Bonny/Bodo Road project is ready for commissioning and usage by September 2025.
He said, “This work will not go beyond September. So the idea of slow stabilization beyond September is not acceptable to us. This job has been very, very badly delayed. And we are aware that going forward and back with Julius Berger on this project, it has lasted for over a year.
“Even, there was a breach of the contract whereby Berger had to demobilize without notice to the client.
“I commend Mr. President very highly for his commitment to the people of Niger and of course indeed to every section of this country.
“When Berger insisted that they must violate the agreement they reached with the previous government when the project was reviewed from N33bn to N199 billion, and so they said it was not going to be varied.
“But when we came on board, Berger insisted that they need to renege on that agreement. So I went to Mr. President and because of his commitment to every section of this country, and the Niger Delta in particular, he allowed us to still review the project by another N80 billion.
“So the total contract sum now is N280 billion. But we take credit that this project is non-varying. It must be completed in September 2025, because it has lasted for more than five years.”
The Minister also tasked other contractors on other roads to ensure quality and timely delivery of the projects on scheduled dates as the federal government has put in a lot of money on the projects, urging them to ensure some sections of the projects are ready for commissioning not later than in three months time.
He said, “Yesterday we started the inspection of our roads, and am going to go through the six geopolitical zones within the first two weeks of January.
“We saw what the Arab Contractor is doing in Aba section. We’re satisfied with it and we hope that project will push them to complete that section of Aba/Port Harcourt/Enugu Road. We have four sections there, and that is one of the sections with the contractor. We push them to get the job completed so that it will be commissioned in April.
“We have set a target that every state controller must present us with four projects to be commissioned by Mr. President beginning from February to May 20, 2025. So that will be one of them.
“We also inspected the job of CCECC from Port Harcourt to Aba and we’re very dissatisfied with the performances of CCECC.
“As a Ministry (of Works), we made up our mind this year that no matter who is involved, we’re going to be telling the public who is delaying the job so that the National Assembly will be properly guided in whom to invite.
“Last year, we had a total of N21 billion that Mr. President made available for the job from Port Harcourt to Aba section and the CCECC was able to claim only N7 billion. That N21 billion should have Completed the first carriage way and still have a remainder.
“The quality of work is good but the delay is so bad. We have frowned at them and the controller is going to issue them with a seven days notice, and if they don’t change the pace of work, change their style and stop the game they are playing, then we will issue them 40 days termination notice,” he warned.
The Minister dismissed insinuations that President Bola Tinubu is constructing legacy projects and abandoning existing ones. “That is not the truth, the fact is that contractors must step up constructions. In this 2025, we will not tolerate what we allowed in 2024.
He said, “The President has done everything to provide the funding, the contractors refused to move the work forward, so that the jobs will be delayed and they will be asking for augmentation, that project will never suffer any other augmentation, rather, we have deployed liquidation damages for delayed works by CCECC and its going to be the same for all the contractors throughout Nigeria.”
The Minister also tackled RCC for delaying the construction of the Eleme section of the East West Road, while commending them for a quality projects.
He said, “For RCC, its been a running battle, but let me commend them for working almost throughout the holiday and for doing a quality work, at the beginning I wasn’t happy about the quality but now, the quality has come to perfection.”
He expressed doubt if the Eleme section of the East West Road project can be completed by July 2025 as assured by RCC following the slow pace of work.
He said, “Mr President had given a marching order to NNPCL, the people funding this project, the Ministry of Works and the NSA to get this project completed by December last year, and so, when we started talking, RCC promised that the two carriage way would be completed by April 2025, today am hearing July.
“Even if we put July for the completion, the permanent works is less than twenty percent, and the progress of work on the five bridges is less than ten percent. Till this moment, they are still working on only three bridges out of the five.
“So, we have agreed to sign a kind of addendum for milestone completion and payment every month. They complained of cash flow, they cannot complain of cash flow for a project that has stayed up to five years, and they are still holding government money of N18 billion naira. So, what did you do with the N18 billion?
“We have certified certificate for N8 billion, am going to be on NNPCL to pay them the 8 billion so that they would have nothing to complain. But the next certificate, we are going to withdraw all the government money they are holding. So, RCC needs to get serious.”
Continuing, the minister said, “We will insist that the first carriage way and atleast three bridges of the Eleme section of the East West Road should be available by the end of April so that the President can commission them because we are now commissioning projects on badges.
“But for me to sign an addendum on milestone completion and payment, they must have to demonstrate that it is not another game. I just have to see them doing the same kind of work in atleast another four sessions of this road then I will know that when I sign, we are not being fooled.”
On the Ahoada section of the East-West Road under construction, the minister during his visit to the site commended the quality of the job done by the contractors, Rock Results and Setraco, but lamented the delay on the completion of the projects.
He also threatened to get their job terminated if they don’t speed up work.
He said, “On the remaining sections of the Ahoada axis of the East West Road between Bayelsa and Rivers State, before now they were doing very well but, in the past two months they have not done well as far as the completion of this project is concerned. So, I have directed them to come to a meeting on Tuesday.
“Rock Results has delayed this job terribly. There are two jobs being handled by them, the drainage and intervention work on the flood plain. There is also the three fair bridges which they have started to construct, I hope they will come with a timetable on that.
“We are going to strictly monitor those projects, when there is funding challenges we will note it. And am going to deploy the mechanism of liquidated damages and which is a penalty clause for contractors when there is adequate fundings, payments are not released and they are delaying projects.
“Am going to use the engineers on this jobs to set an example. I have directed that all his certificates for payments will be blocked and that he should be issued 7 days notice. He will not get one kobo payment unless this first carriage way is fully completed, if its not completed, the job will be terminated,’ Umahi warned.
Also, the Minister accused Setraco of playing politics with the contract. “At the last section where we examined. Setraco is on politics. Am directing that the contractor should comply to our terms immediately.
“Am going to direct the permanent secretary to give them query and they will answer it and then we post other people on site.
“So, we are giving order that this job will be finished within the next three weeks so that after 28 days is completed, we can deploy traffic to this section and commence work on the next section.
“Am very sad, people are suffering so badly on the road, and the contractors are playing games, enough of the games. We are giving them till the end of April to ensure that this section is completed,” he said.
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