All is not well currently in Nigeria’s construction industry as contractors are moving out of sites of federal road projects. This is no thanks to inadequate funding of federal road projects by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. In recent weeks, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, the contractor handling a section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge, has moved out of site.
The sad story on the development of Nigeria’s road infrastructure for 2015 started with the approval of a paltry N22, 933,376,572, as capital vote for the Works and Housing Ministry in this year’s Appropriation Act.
Julius Berger suspended work on the ongoing reconstruction of Section 1 of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project. It is also planning to close down its site and relocate equipment from its site yard near the Sagamu Interchange. It was also learnt that the company had begun downsizing its workforce currently on the project and that of the Second Niger Bridge.
The contract for the reconstruction of the strategic expressway linking the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos, with most parts of the country, was divided into two sections. Julius Berger was awarded Section 1, from Lagos to Sagamu Interchange and and Reynolds Construction Company was given Section II, from Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan at the cost of N167 billion. Julius Berger has also stopped work on the Second Niger Bridge project. It was learnt that the company had in the last one month sacked over 50 workers on the site due to financial constraints.
A visit to the project site at the Asaba and Ogbaru end of the bridge shows that some of the heavy duty equipment on the site had disappeared while only few security personnel and some foreign nationals were seen loitering at the site. The plant house along the expressway has also been shut.
The bridge was awarded since the Shehu Shagari administration in 1979 and has since then been a subject of political campaign by successive governments. In 2006, former President Olusegun Obasanjo inaugurated the bridge. The first Niger Bridge was built between 1964 and 1965 by the French construction giant, Dumez, to link Onitsha and Asaba in the present-day Anambra and Delta states at the cost of £5m.
The construction work was completed in December 1965 but during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970, soldiers destroyed the bridge at Onitsha. After the war, the bridge was rehabilitated but experts have predicted that it is gradually collapsing. Sunday Telegraph also learnt that contractors have moved out of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road, sections 11 and IV, which are undergoing rehabilitation and were budgeted for in the 2015 Appropriation Act.
But sources close to the Federal Ministry of Works said fund approved by the National Assembly in the 2015 Appropriation Act cannot sustain any meaningful work on the sites.
The roads are the Enugu-Port Harcourt Dual Carriageway (Section 2) in Abia State awarded to Messrs Arab Contractors Nigeria Limited for N50.89bn with duration of 40 months and the Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway (Section 1) also in Abia State awarded to Messrs Setraco Nigeria Limited Construction for N39.548bn with duration of 40 months.
For instance, for the rehabilitation of Lagos-Sagamu-Ibadan dual carriage way Section 1, only N400m was appropriated, while the rehabilitation of section 11 was allocated N450m. Sources close to the Federal Road Safety Corps told Sunday Telegraph that the commission had been inundated with complaints on hiccup on the roads due to their poor state.
He said, “We have told them to take their complaints to the appropriate ministry because our responsibility is to control traffic to fill potholes.” He noted that with the return of the rains, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is fast becoming a death trap.
“The flashpoints are Wawa, Olowotedo and Ibafo,” he said. Prior to the commencement of the current reconstruction work, the contract for the total reconstruction of the strategic road was awarded to Bi-Courtney Highways Services Limited (BHSL) at a sum of N82.5 billion on Design, Build and Transfer (DBOT) arrangement over a period of 25 years.
However, the concession arrangement was in the words of the Minister for Works, Mike Onolememen revoked “for breaches of contractual agreement.” After the revocation of the contract to BHSL, the Federal Government went ahead to re-award the full reconstruction of the road to Messrs Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC at a sum of about N162bn.
The new arrangement entailed that Julius Berger should handle section I, which commences from the Old Toll Gate at Ojota to Sagamu, while RCC was to handle section II which starts from Sagamu and terminates at Ibadan.
Meanwhile, Sunday Telegraph learnt on Wednesday that the Julius Berger had also moved out of site of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos Phase II, which it is reconstructing.
Apapa-Oshodi Expressway Section 2 Phase 2: Apapa-Oshodi- Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway Carriageway and service lanes in Lagos State were awarded to Julius Berger for N14.98bn with a duration of 15 months, while a meagre N280m was appropriated for the project in the 2015 budget.
The 117km Mokwa-Bida Expressway in Niger State awarded to Messrs Triacta Nigeria Limited for N10.9bn with a duration of 24 months and the 65.5 km Akure- Ilesha expressway in Ondo and Osun states awarded to Messrs Kopek Construction Limited for N7.399bn with a duration of 21 months have all been abandoned by the contractors.
Also, only N230m was appropriated for the ongoing rehabilitation of the Enugu-PortHarcourt dual carriage way.
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