Umahi Inspects East-West Road, Others, Threatens Revocation of DelayedContracts

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

The Minister of Works, David Umahi,  has directed the acceleration of work on the East-West Road, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway as well as the Bodo-Bonny Road, among others.

On one of the sites, Umahi recently directed the contractor, Messrs Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) to deploy more resources to hasten the pace of work or face re-scoping and re-award of the contract.

He reminded the contractor that he has up to the end of April, 2025 to deliver a section of the carriageway, a statement in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Ahmed, stated.

At the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Section III (Umuahia-Aba),  he applauded the contractor, Messrs Arab Contractors (Nig.) Ltd on the quality of work but instructed the company to deploy in two more sites to speed up the construction and meet the set deadline.

Also,  at the Section IV (Aba-Port Harcourt) of the same alignment being handled by Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), the minister expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work, noting that the company has only been able to access N7 billion out of the N21 billion provided for the project, last year. 

Consequently, he instructed the Federal Controller of Works, Rivers State to issue a warning to the contractor, promising to terminate it, if there are no improvements in the tempo of work.

The tour of duty also took the minister to the Bodo-Bonny Road, where he, again, voiced discontent with the level of work achieved. He urged the Contractor, Messrs Julius Berger Plc to upscale their deployment of men, materials and machines, despite working throughout the Yuletide holidays.