By Dele Ogbodo
The climax of the just concluded inspection of ongoing works on federal roads by members of the National Assembly (NASS) led by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees Chairmen on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi and Hon. Akin Alabi, in company of the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, was the resonation of vote of confidence on the suitability of the concrete technology initiative in the enhancement of the nation’s roadmap to economic prosperity.
Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Spokesperson for the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, said this verdict came to the fore during the recent oversight visit of both committees members to some of the projects being executed by the Ministry especially the phase one of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway projects, the Third Mainland bridge project, the Eko bridge, the emergency repairers of the sub-structure and underwater element on the Third Mainland, Carter and Iddo bridges, the Apapa-Oshodi concrete road project, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project and the Deep Sea Port project.
Making clarifications on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, specifically on the project dimensions, the Minister, said: “The first section has been procured in favour of Hitech Construction Limited and is procured for a sum of N1.06 trillion.
“We have section 2 that is taking off from phase 1 and takes us exactly to the deep sea location, and then this section 2 is taking off from that section and it’s about 55.5km and it’s taking us to the border between Ogun and Ondo States.”
And so, the procurement is ongoing at the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Section 3 is being procured at the end of the road, and that is from Cross River, Calabar.
“And so, the procurement is ongoing at BPP. Section 3 is being procured at the end of the road, and that is from Cross River, Calabar.”
According to him, this resonates in aspiration of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu to make a great difference in governance trajectories.
The Minister solicited for deeper understanding on legislative oversight on the projects implementation processes of the government at all levels.
The National Assembly members who spent days to assess the performance of the Ministry of Works in selected projects in Lagos State were personally taken round the projects by Umahi, as a proof of his track record as a professional engineer in construction and procurement, Orji added.
The Minister gave explicit accounts of the projects’ concepts, designs, specifications, delivery milestones and their socio-economic prospects.
The Minister used the opportunity to explain the importance of concrete road technology, adding: “This form of road technology is a type of Highway surface made by blending cement, sand, coarse, aggregate and water to form a mixture that is poured and compacted to form a durable long lasting surface.
“Cement and steel are the two most critical materials in concrete technology, and incidentally, they can be produced 100% in Nigeria.”
He said the same technology would be used by Hitech Construction Ltd in sections of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
He said, “I have seen the works they did. If you go to Eko Deep Seaport, you will see the concrete work, you go to Apapa-Oshodi, which defied all kinds of solutions, rigid pavement solution was adopted, and the problem of road failure was solved.
“That was done by Dangote. So we are very confident that this project, the two phases, will be executed successfully under President Tinubu.
Let me say that this was his dream as a Governor of Lagos State. He continued, “This project has a self-cleansing mechanism in terms of Return on Investment (RoI). So it’s going to pay for itself.
“So whatever funds that the National Assembly will look for and they give us, it will be effectively utilized, and it will pay for itself.”
The significance of this project, according to the Minister, is that it’s a coastal road. “And so along this route, apart from the train that will run all through, we are going to have a number of facilities. We’re going to acquire some land along the corridor of this road and we’ll be able to have hotels, tourism facilities, industries, housing estates and so on and so forth.” He said.
He explained that the Ministry will be liaising and cooperating with state governors to acquire the lands for us to do this.” When he was asked of the environmental impact of the project to the communities it would pass through, giving professional reply, the Minister, said: “At the beginning of every design you check the hydraulic survey and that is flood level. And then you now do deep soil test.
“Soil test is tested, at a depth of five meters. The reason is that there is what is called dispersal transmission of load, where you put a pin load, and so it takes the transmission down to the subgrade, it transmits into a triangular form so the highest stress is at the top and so as it goes down it reduces. So every case is taken for the engineering design of the project, and so it’s assured.”
Captivated by the thrilling explanations and incisive answers to the questions posed to the Minister on the various projects, especially the 700km Coastal Highway project, the members of the National Assembly expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Federal Minister, describing the projects as legacy projects of landmark importance to national socio-economic advancement of Nigeria.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi, responded: “The coastal road is real and is live, and I can testify with my colleagues from both the House of Reps and the Senate that they are doing the right thing.
And with the expectant period of 3 years/36 months for us to get to this 47 km, seeing it’s achievable.”
On his own part, the Chairman of the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Akin Alabi stated, “It is amazing what we are seeing. These are legacy projects, the Renewed Hope administration is making a great history by this concrete road project.
On our side, both the Senate and House of Representatives must make sure that every fund released is accounted for it. I have no doubt. But we must do our job. It’s our constitutional mandate.