Cross River on course to complete 100-km of roads –Commissioner

The Cross River Government says it is on course to complete over 100 kilometres of roads across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ankpo Edet, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Wednesday.

Edet said that the roads, including those initiated by the current administration and inherited, had achieved between 45 per cent and 50 per cent completion.

According to him, most of the roads were undertaken as part of the urban renewal project for easy evacuation of farm produce, to reduce travelling time and for connectivity.

He listed some of the road projects to include the 10-km Adiabo-Eseku Road, Parliamentary Road

extension, Oban-Nsan Road, and NNPC-Tank Farm Road.

The commissioner said the urban renewal project was being carried out in Calabar metropolis, Ikom and Ogoja.

“The Adiabo-Eseku Road and Oban-Nsan Road are more important in the sense that they will ensure connectivity and reduce travelling time.

“The Adiabo-Eseku Road was initiated in 1992 by the Sani Abacha-led military administration.

“The 10-km road has three bridges and will require sand-filing of about four kilometres to five kilometres swampy area with a depth of about three meters to four meters.

“Upon completion, this road will reduce travelling time by about 30 kilometres.

“Simirlarly, the Oban-Nsan Road, which is about 30 kilometres, will ensure connectivity and save several communities in Akamkpa from travelling through four local government areas to access their communities,” he said.

While noting that the first phase of the Parliamentary Road was completed to mark the governor’s one year in office, the commissioner attributed the change of design as the reason for the delay of the second phase.

“But as I speak with you, the contractor is back to site for the second phase of the Parliamentary Road extension.

“The administration is also working on a lot of roads in Ikom to boost the tourism potential of the area and improve the aesthetics of Ogoja with several road projects in the metropolis.

Edet said that government would soon commission the two flyovers in Calabar metropolis for construction as part of its urban renewal project.