FG Commences Construction of 700 Km Lagos- Calabar Coastal Road and Maintenance of Piers and Other Under Bridge  Works of Critical Bridges in Lagos   1. As part of strategic plans for holistic economic recovery, the Federal Government has commenced the construction of the 700km Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway, spanning 9 States with two spurs leading to the Northern States.  This was expressed by the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Ltd, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.   2. The Hon. Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works' Controller in charge of Lagos State, Engr. (Mrs) O. I. Kesha, emphasized the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilization had been done. He, however, commended very highly Hitech Construction Company Nigeria Ltd for being reputable for quality and speedy delivery of jobs. He acknowledged their efforts in starting work immediately after the contract was awarded. He said, " They have completed some filling of 1.3 kilometer from the day the project was awarded to them. It shows the speed they are going to deploy to this project. Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilized a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometer of section one of the phase".   3. The Honourable Minister  who also visited  project  sites at the Queen's Drive Ikoyi, the Third Mainland  bridge top deck, the  underwater, the Eddo bridge,  the Eko bridge  and Carter  bridge expressed  the determination  of the Federal  Government  to carry out a comprehensive  rehabilitation  of the  bridges which  he  said are critical links between  the  Mainland  and the  Island  of  Lagos,  the economic  hub of the country. These repairs are expected to cover not only the top of the bridge but also the under-bridge works. He said, " At the Third Mainland bridge, we have three or four critical elements to be rehabilitated. The first one is the deck, and the deck is about 11 kilometers × two. That is dual carriageway, including the ramps, and it has been done by CCECC. They have done very beautiful jobs, but we have not concluded.  Before the end of March, we'll be concluding the asphalt milling and the reasphalting.  He further said, "But that is not all our commitment there. We are installing the guardrails, we are replacing the lights with solar light, we are going to put some decorative lights too, and then we are going to put CCTV camera both on top and under the bridge to check insecurity and illegal mining of sand, which is causing scouring on the piles and the pipe bits. The second job is that some sections of the slab are deflected, and so what we have done is to get an expert to understudy the level of deflection. That's the tendons of the slab that deflected. And so, we are going to cut open the slabs, enter and then look at it, scoop it, and then reinstate the tendons of the slab. There's nothing to worry about. It's been done at a Eko bridge by Buildwell. So, this one is not a threat to us at all.   4. He commended what Julius Berger Nigeria Ltd is doing already, which is restoration of deteriorated peirs and peir caps including the cover of peirs and peircaps themselves, and said the piles which he also inspected  were the most  critical of the works to be done.   5. Earlier  in their  respective  remarks, the State  Controller,  Federal Ministry of Works  and the representatives  of  Hitech Construction Nigeria Ltd, Julius Bergger  Nigeria  Ltd, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd,  and. Buildwell Nigeria  Ltd assured  the Honourable Minister  that they would continue to work in line with the   spirit  of excellence, which the Renewed Hope administration of His Excellency President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR  is known for. ...

Federal Government in Discussion with African Development Bank (AFDB) Over Funding of Sections of the Coastal and Trans-Sahara Highways for Greater Regional Transport Environment and Economic Integration   1. As part of the action plan of the  Federal  Government to increase  the economic opportunities of the nation and enhance  the transnational investment process as envisioned by the Renewed Hope administration of the President of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the Hon. Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has  opened  a discussion with African Development Bank on possible funding for  the construction of some sections  of the Coastal  and Trans- Sahara Highways in parts  of Nigeria. He stated this in a meeting with a delegation from Africa Development Bank (AFDB) led by the Director, Infrastructure and Urban Development, Mike Salawou held at the office of the Honourable Minister Federal  Ministry  of Works, this  5th March 2024.   2. This project, which the Honourable Minister said would be a measure to provide enduring infrastructure and industrialization along the corridors, is expected to carry a large network of paved highways that will create a good transport environment and trade routes for moving goods and services along the North- South corridors.  The Honourable Minister  said opportunities of investment on infrastructure  development abound along the coastal and trans-sahara routes, including opportunities  for investment  in the hospitality  industry, tourism, agricultural production, estate, park, and industrial business He said that  funding  would  be required  to tackle the sections  of the Coastal and Trans-Sahara Highways not yet constructed, awarded, or taken over by concessionaires under the  Highway Development and Management Initiative(HDMI). According to him "The coastal road is 700 km. That is phase one and it is running from Lagos through Ogun State to Ondo State, passing through the coastal States of Delta, Bayelsa, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, and ending in Cross River in 700 kilometers. We have spores to the Ogoja road, the one you did, the African Trans- Sahara Road that is going to Cameroon."  He further said."We are sectioning the roads. Just last week, we awarded section one, phase one, and phase one is 47.47 kilometers. It's already awarded to Hi-tech Construction Limited. We have phase two, which is about 57 kilometers, taking us from the end of phase one. Phase one ends at Lekki Peninsula. It takes us from Ahmadu Bello Way to Lekki deep seaport. Phase two takes us to the boundary between Ogun State and Ondo State. That's about 57km"“. And also said, "it's going to be available for a number of funders under the lead investor, That's Hi-tech Construction Nigeria Limited. So that is available, and when discussion comes up, then there will be a need for us to meet with Hi-tech and the Honourable Minister of Finance Coordinating Minister of the Economy".   3. Earlier in his mission statement, the spokesperson of the team from Africa Development Bank. (AFDB) and Director of Infrastructure and Urban Development said the bank has a mandate to contribute to the sustainable economic development and social progress of its regional members individually and jointly and is therefore prepared as a multilateral institution to offer a robust partnership to the Federal Government of Nigeria, especially by providing technical and financial support for the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria.  He said, "So as the African Development bank, we are ready to assist you. To make it easy for us, we need to have any studies available to make sure how we can support you on this project. So we are ready, we can see where we can find the resources to support you in structuring the different projects" He further added" And the third one, the dualization of the road between Nigeria and Cameroon will foster regional integration between the two counties, because I believe Nigeria is Cameroon's number one trade partner So, we need to reinforce the modernized infrastructure there." ...

Works Minister Committed to Speedy and Quality Delivery of Road Infrastructure Nationwide, Says The Policy of No VOP on Mobilization is a Measure to Ensure Value for Money and  Timely Completion  of Projects   1. The Honourable Minister of Works. His Excellency, Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has restated the commitment of the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope administration of His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR in ensuring that all the Federal Road projects are executed speedily and delivered in best standards.  The Honourable Minister gave this assurance during  his inspection  visit  to the rehabilitation  work at Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 4( Aba-PH) executed  by China  Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd(CCECC).He commended  the contractor handling  the project for showing  purposefulness, and he therefore  announced  the revocation of the warning letter issued  to  CCECC  a fortnight ago over their delay in mobilizing  to the site despite the government's  directive."The warning letter  given  to CCECC  for slow pace of work  is hereby  revoked. The new pace of work is excellent, the job quality is excellent, and the Controller sends me progress reports every day. "   2. The Honourable  Minister, who also inspected the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 2 ( Umuahia Tower- Aba Township Rail/ Road) in Abia State, handled  by  the Arab Contractors; the East West  Road section 111( Eleme-Onne junction) in Rivers State handled  by  Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Ltd; the Rehabilitation  of  Enugu- Port Harcourt  Expressway Section 3( Enugu -Lokpanta) in Enugu State handled  by CGC, said he was impressed  by the progress  of work on the respective projects. He said of RCC" I want to commend RCC openly and with all sincerity. I will also take the quality of work going on to Mr. President because he directed me. I was just barely one week in office when he directed me to go and flag off this project because the leaders of Niger Delta came to visit him, and they complained bitterly about the road. " He spoke of the good job by the Arab Contractors and said," I am very happy that the Arab Contractors has done a good job. I commend the contractor. Anybody who wants to see a good job should come here. The Controller of Abia State is doing extremely well together with his engineers." While at the CGC project site, he said, "I have seen the work they are doing, they are doing a very beautiful work. The job quality is very good and the speed is also very good. They are among the contractors that have the highest number of equipment in any of their project sites. So I commend them very highly. "   3. The contractors who spoke during the inspection visit to their respective projects said they were committed to the new order in road infrastructure development in Nigeria and assured the Honourable Minister that they would ensure  quality  and speed  in the delivery  of their road projects. The Project Manager of CCECC in charge of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway, Mr Henry Shaw said, "I am going to assure you that the Honourable Minister, His Excellency is a professional Engineer with a great difference. He knows everything, so nobody can cheat him." ...