Despite Lawmakers’ Opposition, Umahi Insists FG Has Adopted Concrete for Road Construction

•Senate:  We are considering minister’s proposal

Emmanuel Addeh, Sunday Aborisade and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has told a delegation from the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS) that the federal government has adopted the use of concrete pavements for the construction of its roads nationwide.

The minister spoke in Abuja when he was briefed on the ongoing construction of the Lagos–Abidjan Highway initiated by Heads of State and Government of five ECOWAS member states.

The ECOWAS delegation was led by it’s Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka.

A statement from the ministry quoted the minister as saying that for ease of work and speedy completion, the highway project should have processes for its achievement, including breaking them into sections.

Umahi added that this is putting into consideration the peculiarities of the areas across the corridor which might not be viable.

“I think for ease of work and speedy completion, the project should be sectioned and we need to put a process in place to make the project achievable because some sections might be viable while some other sections might not be,”he said

Umahi underscored the importance of the highway project saying that the road project would propel rapid integration of the region, boast commercial activities and improve social development among member states. 

“Umahi also  advocated the use of concrete pavement on the Nigerian corridor, noting that there are a lot of advantages using concrete in road construction without having issues of portholes or washout.

“He added that concrete roads have a longer lifespan, it can withstand heavy traffic loads, has low maintenance, is less affected by temperature fluctuations and that this  has been adopted by the Nigerian government,” the statement noted.

Last month, the House of Representatives urged the ministry of works to suspend, for the time being, the wholesale adoption of cement for road construction, pending the conclusion of its investigation.

The resolution was passed in response to a motion titled: ‘’Need to Investigate the Adoption of Concrete Technology for Road Construction in Nigeria,’’ sponsored by Khadija Ibrahim.

But Umahi, during the meeting with the ECOWAS delegation reiterated that while adapting to feasibility result and technical studies,  Nigeria would fast-track the completion of her own section of the highway, describing it as laudable.

“We should fast-track the completion of our own section following the feasibility result and technical studies and design. It is a laudable project for rapid growth and development,” he stressed.

Earlier in his remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Douka, noted that Africa’s economic integration was hampered by large deficits in its transportation infrastructure.

He explained that the 2050 ECOWAS vision seeks to enhance infrastructure development and recognises economic growth and integration of people as a contributor to the creation of a regional environment favourable to the free movement of people and goods.

He said the 1,028 km road project was initiated by the heads of governments of Benin (128km), Cote d’Ivoire (155km), Ghana (576km), Nigeria (79.5km) and Togo (89.2km) in Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire on February 28, 2013.

According to him, the steering committee of the project is made up of the ministers of works of corridor member states and commissioner for infrastructure of the ECOWAS commission.

Their role, he said, is to provide oversight guidance for the implementation of the project wherein each of the ministers reports back to their respective governments.

Also speaking, the Director of Infrastructure Department, ECOWAS, Malik Ashoke, revealed that the link bridge between Nigeria and Cameroon had been completed and commissioned.

However, he noted that scanning machines and weigh bridges were yet to be put in place, and  therefore requested that the Nigerian minister of works assists in obtaining government’s directive for ease of clearance of the equipment from the wharf. 

Meanwhile, the Senate  yesterday said it would make public its decision on the adoption of concrete technology on federal roads soon.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Works, Patrick Ndubueze, revealed this when he received the leadership of the Nigerian Institution of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NHTE) in Abuja.

This comes amidst the ongoing tussle between contractors and the works ministry over the directive to immediately dump the use of asphalt and adopt concrete technology.

The chairman’s declaration was in response to recommendations made by the engineers over the lingering issue.

The NHTE president, Saidu Hassan, in his address, noted that for any project to be truncated and converted to rigid pavement projects will be a violation of contractual agreement and may lead to litigations.

According to him, both methods have their advantages and disadvantages and either of them should be used where it is necessary based on engineering judgment.

Hassan stated: “We are very happy by the National Assembly’s timely intervention to suspend the uniform adoption of concrete Road pavement policy by the federal government especially at this period when the public space is inundated with policy statements on the suitability of flexible and rigid pavements in the road sector.

“While the NHTE is not against the use of concrete roads, such a policy should have been subjected to the scrutiny of highway stakeholders to ensure that the appropriate engineering procedures and processes are strictly followed, and proper implementation strategies adopted.

“We are concerned with the paucity of funds available to the federal ministry of works and FERMA from the federal budget to execute road projects capable of ameliorating the suffering of Nigerians.

“From experiences garnered over the years, asphalt plants and other items of equipment used for the construction of flexible pavements would be discarded and this will amount to a huge loss to the country.”

He further said that to adopt the proposed concrete roads, ample time was required for the importation of new equipment and the training of the relevant manpower.

“For the existing flexible pavement to be converted to rigid pavement, it will require  to fix new rates for the concrete pavement, revise the contract sum, and subsequently seek Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval.

“It is pertinent to point out that the durability of a road pavement, whether flexible (asphalt) or rigid (concrete) depends on good design, supervision, and maintenance. This can be achieved by adhering to the provisions of the design manual, conditions of contracts, and general specifications,” he added.

Responding, the committee chairman promised to ensure extensive deliberations on the issue before making a decision.

Ndubueze who represents Imo North Senatorial District said: “We have received your report and professional input and we will discuss extensively on this extensively.

“We will take our decision soon and possibly we may now officially invite you again with other stakeholders on this issue. In that case, we might come to a conclusion very soon.”

The meeting, attended by the former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, former Edo state Governor, Adams Oshiomole, and former Abia State governor, Orji Kalu, later dissolved into a closed-door meeting.