Umahi: No Going Back on Decision Not to Vary Bodo-Bonny Project Sum Beyond N200bn

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the federal government will not rescind its decision not to embark on the variation of the cost of building the Bodo-Bonny federal road in Rivers state, awarded to Julius Berger.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Uchenna Orji, said Umahi spoke when the management of Nigeria LNG led by its Managing Director, Dr Philip  Mshelbila, visited him in his office in Abuja.

“I saw your letter with regard to requests by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, the contractor, to increase the contract sum. And you and your board together  with your team vehemently stood against that.

“That gave me some teeth to bite because I saw a commitment by all parties that this project will not increase beyond the augmented amount of N199 billion,” Umahi told the delegation.

The road is being built in collaboration with the gas company.

The minister enjoined Julius  Berger  to respect the letter  of the tripartite  agreement and go back to site, assuring that the federal government would only offer compassionate  considerations on the remaining 16 per cent part of the uncompleted  job without necessarily expanding the contract envelope.

“I discovered by the letters of JB that they have abandoned the site, and that’s against the contract they signed. Even if they needed to leave the site, there are general conditions of contract specifying the procedures  for notices in such a circumstance.

“We have discussed with them and we are going to look at the remaining 16 per cent on compassionate ground and see whether there is any merit, and  we can see if there is any money left in the contingency, but definitely we will not expand the envelope.

“Expanding the envelope means you are going back to your board. Expanding the envelope means my going back to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), going back to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), going back to Mr. President, going back to the Federal Executive Council (FEC). So, it’s a long journey, and that will not allow that project to be completed as planned,” he argued.

Speaking  on behalf of the management  of NLNG, Mshelbila reiterated the  vision of the company  in not only building  a globally competitive  company, but also in contributing  towards building  a better  Nigeria.

He added that this can be done by  delivering  quality  infrastructure through projects  such  as the Bobo-Bonny  road being  funded  by NLNG.

He assured  that everything  possible  would  be done to complete the road on time as provided under the agreement, bearing in mind the concerns of the contractor handling the project.

“With regards to  the coming back to the Bonny-Bodo road, we see two parts to it, the main road itself. We are really looking forward to that being completed on time.

“We have had commitments in the past from the contractor around its completion and we do understand that there are concerns around  what is happening  in the economy now,” he said.

He added: “We have indicated an interest to pursue the extension of that road from Bodo so that it connects to the East-West road. That way you then have a complete corridor of major roads connecting to the East-West Road, rather than ending in Bodo.”