Umahi: Using Concrete Instead of Asphalt to Construct Abuja-Kano Road will Save FG N640bn

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja 

The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has said the decision to switch from asphalt to concrete for the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road would save the federal government over N640 billion.

The minister made this known when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee to monitor the construction of the road, chaired by Hon. Aminu Jaji.

Recall that the contract for the construction of the road was awarded to Julius Berger before it was terminated.

Umahi had accused the contractor of unethical practices and failure to abide by the terms of the project.

The minister said when re-awarded it would be for a concrete road.

He stated: “By my approach, I saved the nation N640 billion from Julius Berger. If we had accepted to do the job for N1.5 trillion, then they would have; now we are not, we are saving the country over N640 billion. And we are improving the architecture of the road.”

The committee asked if it would not be more expensive to re-award the contract when Berger had already done some work and if it would not be more cost-effective to retain the same contractor even for the concrete road project. 

Umahi added: “The problem of Berger is not just a problem of cost. We said in our conditions for acceptance that this project must be completed in 14 months. This project is a non-vary project unless the dollar goes beyond N2,000 per dollar. They refused all those conditions and they set booby traps for us.”

 The minister stressed that there was no going back on the decision as the difference between the ministry and Berger appeared irreconcilable.

He said it would be unethical to just give the contract to Berger because the contract has to be thrown open for all to bid, adding that Berger could still bid for the project if it wanted.

Umahi noted: “We terminated the job within our rights as an executive. They were fairly treated. It is within my right to determine the choice of pavement. When you compare the cost, we are in a safe haven. Leave the concrete; it is my baby. It’s cheaper to use concrete and we are putting in additional jobs of solar lights and CCTV. 

“We were in negotiation with Berger for 14 months. It is within my right to terminate the job and we followed due process. I am happy the road was terminated from Berger. We had cases of kidnap on the road due to the condition of the road. We begged them to fix the potholes but they refused. Sections of the road were bad but they refused to do it.”

The committee Chairman, Jaji, directed that all relevant documents related to the project be submitted so they can be better guided in addressing the issue.

Umahi was also required to supply the committee contract agreement, certificate rates, and evidence of payment made so far among others.

“If the certificate was raised, what was the value and the percentage of work covered? If you want a review, at what point did the review or at what point was the review done? All these are information we require,” a member of the committee, Hon. Idris Wase said.

Earlier, the management team of the company led by Mr. Benjamin Bott blamed the slow work on the road to poor policy changes, adding that they were being owed by the federal government.

He said at one point, the work stopped because the government came up with the option of concrete instead of asphalt for the construction.

Bott noted that at a point, the problem of insecurity kept workers away for 11 months due to a bomb blast in Kaduna when their workers were attacked.