FG TO STRENGTHEN OPERATIONAL MODEL OF HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE TO ENSURE QUALITY DELIVERY AND EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE In his efforts towards rejigging the operational model of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON has introduced parameters that will strengthen the quality delivery and management of road infrastructure under the Public Private Partnership model of road infrastructure development known as Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) and ensure efficient utilization of the completed projects by road users. The Honourable Minister gave this indication during a meeting with the Public Private Partnership unit of the Federal Ministry of Works and Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL) concessionaires for  the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors in his office on 12th February 2024. In the meeting, which had in attendance the team of the PPP headed by Ugwu-Chima Nnennaya (Mrs.) and the team of APPNL lead by Mr. Dipo Lawore and Mr. K. V. Rao, there were discussions on the way forward for achieving a more effective operational model for the HDMI programme and more efficient contractual relations between the Federal Government and Concessionaires. The meeting which dwelt on the review of the project parameters for the Benin-Asaba and Lagos-Abeokuta road corridors as negotiated in 2022 by Messrs. Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Ltd (APPNL) was necessitated by the heightened inflationary pressures, exchange rate concerns, reduced vehicular traffic on the highways occasioned by the increase in fuel pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Speaking on the need for quality delivery of road projects and efficiency in project negotiation, the Honourable Minister listed what he termed Renewed Hope model of the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) and said the parameters would be finetuned, agreed upon and adopted in all contractual relations between the Federal Government and concessionaires going forward. He highlighted the parameters to include: a.    The design of the project to be in line with the specification of the Federal Ministry of Works and investor can only improve upon the design made by the Ministry. b.    A reasonable construction period must be agreed upon. c.    There shall be no variation on the project. d.    100% of one carriage way must be completed before tolling by concessionaires. e. The business plan must be in line with the  socio-economic dynamics. f.    Terms of tolling of road projects must be in accordance with the Laws of the Federation, and standard contract conditions must be followed. g.    Contingency and variation on Price (VOP) shall be utilized only by the express and written permission of the client. h.    Bill of Quantities shall be verified and adopted in line with the prevailing market prices. i.    Road count on traffic shall be carried out by the investor and where such data has been provided by the client, it is the duty of the investor to accept or verify and where the investor accepts, it shall be binding on all. j.    It shall be the duty of the investor to sensitize the public on the toll programme in every project. k.    The client shall have the right to terminate the job of the investor for failure to comply with the time of road project completion. l.    Every road construction for highways must be in accordance with the highway standard prescribed by the Laws of the Federation. In their separate responses, the team leader of the APPNL and the head of the PPP unit of the Federal Ministry pf Works assured the Honourable Minister of their commitment  to the innovative initiatives of the  Federal Ministry  of Works on road infrastructure and thanked  the Hon. Minister  for pointing  out that  there was a dire need to review not only the cost of the  concessioned project, but also the scope of the project to meet with the standard of road construction in accordance with the innovations introduced by the Ministry under the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GGFR. They expressed their commitment towards a robust negotiation on the project  review that would lead to a financial close so that work could commence without further delay. They promised to carry out further technical analysis on all the issues raised  in the meeting and re-present same to the Honourable Minister for consideration. ...

WORKS MINISTER ALLAYS FEAR ABOUT THE STATE OF BRIDGES IN LAGOS, SAYS NO NEED TO WORRY * Umahi orders relocation of those cooking under Carter bridge The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, has allayed the fear of road users in Lagos about the integrity of the Third Mainland bridge, Eko and Carter bridges, saying “there is no need to worry.” Explaining the work to be done , he said “Some of the elements which are defective are going to be fixed. But there's nothing to worry about. We are going to reinstate those defective slabs with the new the design.” Speaking to journalists Wednesday after the joint assessment tour of the three bridges in company of the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Minister explained that “over the years, after the construction of the bridge, there was no serious maintenance,” He therefore assured that the failure of the bridge would be addressed. “So, we are working on the problems about the bridges.” On the state of the Lagos shoreline, Sen. Umahi stressed that the shore protection on the marina needs urgent attention, noting that the Lagos railway project, the blue line might be threatened if nothing is done to address the matter. At the end of the exercise in Lagos, the Ministers who  agreed there was need for rehabilitation work to be carried out, noting that the impact created by the current of water under the bridges and on the shoreline need intervention. On the ongoing rehabilitation of the third mainland bridges, the Minister revealed that some comprehensive works would be done especially in area of provision of street lights on and under the bridge and installation of CCTV. While praising the work being done by the Contractor, he assured that the bridge would be opened to road users soon. On his part, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun commended the Minister of Works and his team of officials for their efforts at rehabilitating the roads and bridges as he described them as very important for economic development. While answering questions from reporters, the Minister disclosed that the Federal Government was looking to raise revenue to finance infrastructure, pointing out that “what we are targeting and working towards is a 77% increase in internally generated revenue for the Federal Government. So that is where the funding particularly is going to come from”, he submitted. Meanwhile, during the inspection tour, the Works Minister upon citing those cooking under the Carter bridge, ordered that security be mobilised to stop the menace, adding that they be relocated immediately to avoid any serious damage to the health of the bridge. In continuation of the inspection of Federal road projects in Lagos, the two Ministers also visited the Lagos - Calabar coastal highway and met with the contractor to review progress work on the project. The project when completed is expected to go through the shoreline linking Lagos with Calabar . In the inspection were senior government officials from the Ministry, officials of Julius Berger and some journalists. ...

WORKS, FINANCE MINISTERS UNDERTAKE INSPECTION OF ONGOING REHABILITATION OF THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE  The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, and his counterpart, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Chief Wale Edun have undertaken the inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Third Mainland bridge in Lagos. While Inspecting the ongoing rehabilitation work this Tuesday, the Ministers took time to examine different aspects of the rehabilitation work, commending the contractor, Messrs CCECC for their good efforts so far. Sen. Umahi particularly gave good attention to the ongoing  relaying of asphalt pavements of the bridge which commenced at the Owornshoki end of the 11.8kn bridge, noting the quality of work by the contractor, encouraging them to maintain the quality of work. On the installation of the solar based street lights and the CCTV cameras on the 3rd mainland, Engr Umahi described solar lights as very useful and will be strategic for road users. He however told the contractor to ensure the right quality materials are utilised to ensure value for money. In the inspection team of the two ministers were other senior government officials and the Contractor handling the project. It would be recalled that the Ministers of Works and Finance had early in January this year visited the ongoing construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road projects to  assess the status of the project ...