FG Sets May 10 Completion Deadline For Enugu-Onitsha Expressway
The Federal Government on Wednesday set May 10th as the completion deadline for the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway being handled by MTN under the Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment (Tax Credit) Scheme.
At the meeting held in Abuja between the Federal Ministry of Works with MTN and RCC Company Nig Ltd, it was resolved that MTN would be held responsible should the road fail after construction on account of a shoddy job by the contractor.
Also, it was agreed that there will be no variation or VOP on the project and RCC must note that going forward, the operation of VOP in their projects must be in accordance with the procedure contained in the Conditions of Contract and not at the whims and caprices of the contractor.
A statement issued by Barrister Orji Uchenna Orji, the Special Adviser (Media), to the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, stated that the meeting had the minister, the Minister of State for Works, Mohammad Bello Goronyo; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. O.O. Adebiyi; the representatives of MTN, the Managing Director of RCC Company Nig Ltd.; and his team were in attendance.
The statement quoted Umahi to have reiterated that the Federal Ministry of Works was unwavering in its commitment towards ensuring that the contractor handling the project, and in this case, MTN that is handling the project under the Tax Credit Scheme, is made to ensure quality and speedy delivery of the project.
The minister wondered why an official of MTN could go on his way to insinuate that the directive made by the Federal Ministry of Works that RCC Ltd. should stop using materials that could derail the quality outcome of the job amounted to a sabotage of the projects of Mr President in the South East.
He said, “We have to put the records straight that this ministry has the responsibility to ensure quality delivery of work by contractors. And the contractor, in this case, is MTN.”
He recounted the various inspection visits he made to contractors’ project sites and how this had caused them to brace up to ensure quality and speed in project delivery.
“We went through what MTN was doing. We discovered that they were using peeled sand to do the job. I’m an engineer. I’m not a history graduate.
“I’m a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and I’ve spent all my life in the field. And we gave a directive, which is in line with the general conditions of the contract, that should stop using such sand but go back and use river sand, which we paid for,” he said.
The Minister emphasized the need for RCC Nig Ltd. to play by the rule in project variation.
He decried as unacceptable a situation where RCC could do a job of N38bn and demand a VOP of N14bn and said that going forward, such indulgence by contractors in the name of inflation would not be tolerated.
He, however, called on the manufacturers of cement to reduce the cost of cement to N7,000 as the price of the dollar has drastically reduced.
Umahi said the cost of petrol is coming down and efforts are being made by Mr. President to fix the road.
He said, “I’m happy that the policies of Mr. President are working. Today, a dollar is about N1,400. And let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement. Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt.
“We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000; they increased cement from N7,500. Why should today, when the President has brought the dollar to stability to about N1400 and is still going down, cement be selling for N9,500?
“We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don’t do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President.”
In their separate remarks, the Honourable Minister of State for Works and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works extolled the stance of the Federal Ministry of Works on the policies that would not only fast-track job execution but also guarantee value for money and quality project outcomes.
They urged the contractor to cooperate with the new paradigm under the Renewed Hope administration and work towards delivering the Enugu-Onisha dual carriageway in record time so that Mr President could commission it for public use.
FG Sets May 10 Completion Deadline For Enugu-Onitsha Expressway is first published on The Whistler Newspaper