Enugu government blames culvert failure for flooding in World Bank project

The Enugu State Government has blamed the culvert failure along Neke/Mbu/Ogbodu-Abba/Obollo-Etiti roads on intensive rainfall that caused flooding and erosion in the ravaged section.

The government said a preliminary report on the World Bank project executed under the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP II) revealed that it failed due to culvert-in-let by heavy debris, comprising logs and other materials from a nearby forest as a result of unprecedented rainfall in the area.

According to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Nnanyelugo Aroh, the state government has directed the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to invite the Nigerian Society of Engineers to investigate and determine the remote causes of the damage and advise on necessary remedial measures.

Aroh said the state government had earlier set up a technical committee to assess, among other things, the structural quality and integrity of all RAMP II projects executed in the state. Directive has also been given for immediate installation of warning signs to alert motorists in advance of the closure of the portion of the road as well as placement of diversion signs to alternative routes.

The commissioner assured the public of government’s commitment to the provision of standard infrastructure and its resolve to hold all agencies, contractors and partners accountable for all works done.