MINISTER of Works, David Umahi, has said new road projects will not be initiated. He said his ministry would rather concentrate on the completion of existing projects.

Umahi, who stated this during a media briefing in Abuja, explained: “After inspecting the ones already awarded in some geopolitical zones of the country, we discover that there are lots to be done by the contractors handling road projects.

“We have interacted with stakeholder and unfolded the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ as it affects the work industry to adopt concrete technology.”

He also called on the National Assembly to “return the ministry’s N650 billion taken away from the 2022 roads budget.”

He reiterated that the current contractors would use asphalt pavement on all roads but they would sign a pact with the ministry to guarantee that the projects would last for 30 years.

“Using concrete for road construction will make them last for 50 years. It has worked in Ebonyi State, and it has huge success story.

“We intend to reinvigorate Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for projects in the states of the federation. We are planning that the agency’s intervention will involve state commissioners and on completion of the projects, they will issue certificates.”

The minister said many road projects were going on as expected, stressing that Nigerians must get values for for taxes.

“Presently, the ministry is working on 12 highways and nine have scaled through all necessary procedures.”