*Tinubu to inaugurate section one by April
WorldStage– Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi on Saturday in Lagos restated plans to toll the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as soon as completed and inaugurated, .
Speaking during an inspection tour of the project, he also confirmed a N170 billion increments on the project as a result of this and diversion of the projects to save high-rise buildings at the beginning of the project, the shore protection we encountered and a lot of refuse dumps that were evacuated – some up to 15 metres deep and stretching over many kilometers.
He said, ”I must emphasise that this road is going to be tolled and by the contractor, it is part of the package.
“l will be inviting the contractor to give us the programme, I don’t want to open this permanently for traffic and then we begin to talk about tolling.
” The contractor has to give us the programme and begin to build infrastructure before the end of April; so, we have to toll this route as soon as we complete it and as soon as it is commissioned,” he said.
On the impact of challenges (following realignment of the highway) on the project budget, the minister said that there would be no room to increase the budget further.
”We have concluded the re-measurements and we are a country with a lot of other issues and we have gone to the Bureau of Public Procurement; so, there is no opening to increase the project further.
On the increments, he said, Hitech Construction Company Ltd. the contractor handling the project “has to be at this risk and that is part of its contribution in building our nation.”
CHALLENGES
The Minister said the highway is already serving its purpose as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to complete its Section One.
“I am very eager to see how we can fully complete this Section One by April this year, so that we can have it fully commissioned – a stretch of Section One and a significant part of Section Two,” he said.
He said that in spite of challenges, the contractor handling the project, Hitech Construction Company Ltd., was doing well and determined to beat deadlines.
“We are terribly being challenged because of the realignment that we have encountered.
”What we are witnessing in Kilometer 34 has nothing to compare with what we had in Kilometer 20, where we had a pit of over 25 metres deep, and Hitech was able to remove them and then loaded them with lumps and sharp sand.
“I continue to thank Hitech. Lagosians and other Nigerians have been enjoying the road, and I have seen the reason behind the dreams of over 27 years,” Umahi said.
He said that he would inspect the project every month to be sure that President Bola Tinubu would have it fully inaugurated by the end of April.
According to Umahi, the President might also inaugurate about 50% of the Section Two of the highway project in April.
“We have not been here since we temporarily opened it for traffic and we are very happy that the coastal road is serving its purpose.
”I am very happy with what I have seen out of the 47.47 kilometres, excluding the bridges, which are part of the Section Two,” he said.
Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olufemi Dare, told the Minister that Hitech was encountering challenges at Chainage 34.
“We encountered another very deep swampy area here as we can see. We have dredged here and there from 34 to 37, 38,” he said.
He, however, said the contractor handling the project was on top of the situation.
“The dredging operation is ongoing in order to fast-track the process, and whenever we finalise and we push the sand on top of water level, we are continuing with sharp sand as well as stone base.
