Matthew Otoijagha
The Director of Highways, South-West, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Emmanuel Adeoye, has said the first section of the Apapa-Wharf Road will be opened to the public by the middle of this month.
Adeoye stated this during an inspection tour of the project, adding that the Federal Government was committed to the successful completion of the project being jointly financed by Dangote Industries and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. as a Corporate Social Responsibility. He noted that despite the challenges being faced, the ongoing construction would be completed in June.
According to him, “As we have been briefed, the initial completion date set for the project can still be met. The project is about 60 to 70 per cent completed and is divided into four sections. The first section is expected to be opened before mid-March.
“The Federal Government sees this as an important project. The drainage system adopted is to make the road almost maintenance free. The constraints witnessed have been surmounted and we expect smooth working pace. The completion date for the project is still achievable for us.”
During the tour, the road under construction and the 340-capacity truck park were visited. Adeoye said he was satisfied with the quality of materials used for the construction of the road, noting that it would be properly maintained.
The Project Manager, AG Dangote Construction Company, Mr. Jimoh Tunde said the pace of work was affected by the challenges earlier witnessed on the project. Some of the challenges experienced, according to him, include rain, traffic, community and stakeholders’ demands, utilities and potholes on the road, among others.
He stated that both the materials and personnel used for the road construction were locally sourced. “We are constructing with concrete pavement but we faced some challenges, which resulted to setbacks. For instance, within just two kilometres, we met so many underground utilities, gas pipeline, 115 electric poles, telecoms cables and six transformers, among others.
He further said, “We currently have 150 workers on site and majority of them are Nigerians. We only have 16 expatriates. We are still standing by the June 2018 completion date for the project. We have started working day and night with security personnel deployed to ensure safety. We have cleared the obstructions.”