Senate decries non-completion of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road

The Senate Committee on Works has decried the slow pace of work by the contractor handling the reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adamu Aliero made this known on Monday when he led members of the committee on an oversight to the sites.

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The contract was awarded on December 20, 2017 to Julius Berger Plc at a cost of N155.48 billion and has three sections, Zuba-Kaduna, Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano.

Sen. Aliero expressed worry that the work was being done at snail speed, saying that Nigerians were worried as the road cuts across three geopolitical zones of north-central, north-west and north -east.

“It is a very important road in terms of the economic gains of the zones. The delay is unacceptable; there is not enough mobilization on the part of the contractor.

“Several people have complained to us as legislators and true representatives of the people, that is why we are compelled to come and see what is happening,” he said.

While reminding the contractor, Julius Berger Plc that it has 14 months to complete the job, the lawmaker said that the Senate “cannot afford to lose more lives on the road.

” From what I gathered, the ministry has not done its work properly. There is inconsistency in the whole arrangement,” he said.

A member of the Senate committee, Sen. Kabir Barkiya (APC/Katsina) said that the level of work is not encouraging as the non -completion of work has resulted in the death of many.

He questioned if it is the type of funding and the budgetary releases the contractor was getting that has led to the delay in finishing the work.

Also, Deputy Minority Whip, Sen. Sahabi Yau observed that the committee is not questioning the quality of work done by Berger, was uncertain if the time line for the completion of the contract was attainable.

“You have refused to mention in your briefing how much you have collected so far. Is it that you have not been settled and certificates not raised by the ministry of works?

“The journey of two hours is now five hours because of the inter-change sections,” he decried.

Regional Manager Julius Berger Plc, Benjamin Bott said that the company was a reputable firm and was working on all three sections of the road to ensure that the project is completed at the specified time.

” Work is progressing. You will be very comfortable with the quality and progress of the work. We are having all hands on deck with our controllers and the team from the Federal Ministry of Works,” he said.

Acting Director, Federal Highways North Central, Bola Aganaba said that over the years, there is the belief that roads built by the ministry and government do not last.

He explained that when the project started, it was discovered that if normal rehabilitation was done, some sections of the road would fail which was why there was a review of the job.

Aganaba however, said that he is optimistic that with the amount awarded for the contract, the project would be concluded by mid -2021 as specified in the terms of agreement.