The Federal Government through the Works Ministry has introduced parameters that will strengthen quality delivery and management of road infrastructure across the Nigeria.
This is the Minister of Works, Sen. Engr David Umahi’s efforts towards rejigging the operational model of Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), under the Public Private Partnership model and to ensure efficient utilization of the completed projects by road users.
Umahi gave this indication during a meeting with the Public Private Partnership unit of the Federal Ministry of Works and Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL) concessionaires for the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors in his office, Abuja on Monday.
According to the statement released by the Minister’s Special Adviser, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji stated that the meeting dwelt on the review of the project parameters for the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors.
Which has was negotiated in 2022 by Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL), to be necessitated by heightened inflationary pressures, exchange rate concerns, reduced vehicular traffic on the highways occasioned by the increase in fuel pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
In attendance is the team of the PPP headed by Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya (Mrs.) and the team of APPNL lead by Mr. Dipo Lawore and Mr. K. V. Rao, also there were discussions on way forward for achieving a more effective operational model for the HDMI programme and more efficient contractual relations between the Federal Government and Concessionaires.
Speaking on the need for quality delivery of road projects and efficiency in project negotiation, the Minister listed what he termed Renewed Hope model of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) and said the parameters would be finetuned, agreed upon and adopted in all contractual relations between the Federal Government and concessionaires going forward.
He highlighted the parameters to include: The design of the project to be in line with the specification of the Federal Ministry of Works and investor can only improve upon the design made by Ministry. A reasonable construction period must be agreed upon.
There shall be no variation on the project. 100% of one carriage way must be completed before tolling by concessionaires. The business plan must be in line with the socio-economic dynamics. Terms of tolling of road projects must be in accordance with the Laws of the Federation, and standard contract conditions must be followed.
Contingency and variation on Price (VOP) shall be utilized only by the express and written permission of the client. Bill of Quantities shall be verified and adopted in line with the prevailing market prices.
Road count on traffic shall be carried out by the investor and where such data has been provided by the client, it is the duty of the investor to accept or verify and where the investor accepts, it shall be binding on all. It shall be the duty of investor to sensitize the public on the toll programme in every project.
The client shall have the right to terminate the job of the investor for failure to comply with the time of road project completion. Every road construction for highways must be in accordance with the highway standard prescribed by the Laws of the Federation.
While in their separate responses, the team leader of the APPNL and the head of the PPP unit of the Federal Ministry of Works assured the Minister of their commitment to the innovative initiatives of the Ministry on road infrastructure.
They thanked the Minister for pointing out that there was a dire need to review not only the cost of the concessioned project, but also the scope of the project to meet with standard of road construction in accordance with the innovations introduced under the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They also expressed their commitment towards a robust negotiation on the project review that would lead to a financial close so that work could commence without further delay while promised to carry out further technical analysis on all the issues raised in the meeting and re-present same to the Minister for consideration.