Umahi promises early completion of East-West Road in Ogoni

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has reassured the people of Rivers State and communities along the East-West Road corridor of early completion of the project.

The Minister assured that the ongoing project has a life span of 50-100 years without requiring maintenance or reconstruction.

Umahi gave the assurance during an inspection tour of the project, which includes the Bodo/Bonny Road, Eleme to Onne axis, and Ahoada axis.

He assured contractors of the federal government’s support to complete projects in four locations within the next six months.

He said, “Let me say that Mr. President is very much interested in the early completion of this road, and he has directed that the NSA and the CEO of NNPCL should do a meeting with me and the contractor, which we have done in our first meeting.

“We’ve also done the second meeting. NSA has also dispatched his men and the men of the ministry of works to this road.

“And let me assure the people of Rivers State, and of course, the communities along this corridor and essentially the Onne Port, that this job, when completed, you don’t have to worry about maintenance for the road; don’t worry about reconstruction of the road for the next 50-100 years, and the quality of the job is very commendable, and that is RCC. Where RCC has done well, we must say so. When they have done bad, we must also say so.”

He emphasised that the initial December deadline is no longer feasible, and the new target is to finish the project by March or June next year.

The minister noted that by the end of October, the project is expected to be completed by five kilometers of the 15km carriageway.

He explained that the Eleme junction to Onne Port section of the road spans 15 km with three lanes, plus inner and outer shoulders, making it four lanes, adding that the road is redesigned to feature reinforced concrete pavement.

Umahi, however, commended the acting controller, engineers, and the RCC engineer for their good work, demonstrating his commitment to recognising and encouraging excellence

He, however, expressed concerns over the pace of the East-West Road project, citing a shortage of expatriates and inadequate equipment.

Umahi noted that a project of this magnitude requires at least five expatriates, but only one is currently on site.

The Minister commended RCC for their good quality work but criticised the slow pace.