Nigerian Minister of Works, Engr David Nweze Umahi has announced to contractors that the Ministry’s intention for them is to focus on most of the dualised roads across the country.
Umahi made this known while meeting with all contractors handling road dualisation projects and all zonal Directors of the Ministry at the Ministry’s Hqter’s office in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, “Why we are here now is to announce our intention to face most of the dualised roads in the country.
“I want to remind you that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is funding 50% percent of the contract sum and that funding goes up to 2025,“ he said.
According to the statement released by the Ministry, Umahi said, “we have N431B of money that is ready for contractors to clear but there is no certificate for it, if you are doing a job under Phase 1, make effort to make claims.
“If your job involves augmentation go back to your Regional Director for understanding before I sign the certificate, any certificate I sign now, I have to take account for it even when I have left office”, the Minister said.
The Minister tasked the contractors to stick to one lane if their job has not gone up to 50% completion; he said he had also come up with Performance Bond meaning that all new projects would be guaranteed for 10years.
He urged all contractors that have built roads that cannot last up to ten years to write to the Ministry to either stop work or rebuild the road to last 10years.
The Minister warned contractors that he would not listen to stories of failures on roads due to overloading, he enjoined all them to cooperate with him on building roads with concrete technology as it was done both in India and Singapore.
Earlier, Engr. Umahi told the contractors and stakeholders to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, this Administration has 18000 kilometre of roads, inherited a contract sum of about N14.1 trillion and out of which N4trillion is being paid in all those projects, some of the projects have lasted between 10 to 20years.
The Minister said some contractors have jerked up the contractor sum by hundred percent and that is the reason they are not getting paid.
“We are going back to the original concept of the projects and the necessity of any additional works and also see how we get a fair deal, expecting endorsement from the Ministry of what is not acceptable to Nigerian Society of Engineers is not possible “, the Minister said.
Umahi also made confirmation that “Mr President understands road infrastructure, If I come before him with a contract of N44B reviewed to N144B contract sum, I must be able to provide details of how the cost came about “.