The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Mohammed Bello, has made a U-turn on the timeline earlier given for the completion of Apo-Karshi road.
On February 17, Bello had assured that the 13.25 kilometer Apo-Karshi road would be completed before the start of the rainy season.
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But responding to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting of Wednesday, the minister said the information available to him now is different from the one he had at the time he made the promise.
The journalists had asked him to comment on the delay of the completion of the project.
He said: “Thank you very much for the question on the Apo-Karshi road. I made that statement here a few weeks ago based on information available to me at that time. But, it is very obvious now based on the reality on ground and the challenges being faced by the contractor including funding which we are trying to resolve.
“It is likely that we would not be able to meet the target I earlier set for making sure that that road gets opened before the rainy season. But, you can be rest assured that is a road that is so important to all of us in the city, and we will keep on pushing on to see that it Is done.”
Bello had said the road, which was first awarded in 2011 to Kakatar Engineering Limited, a company under former President Goodluck Jonathan, will be completed and open for public use before this year’s rainy season.
He had blamed error of design whereby, a huge rock outcrop on the alignment of the road for the delay in the completion of the road.
The road was designed to ease the gridlock at the AYA-Nyanya-Mararaba section of the Abuja-Keffi road.
The road links the Abuja metropolis with some densely populated satellite towns including Karshi, and neighbouring Nasarawa State.
The award of the contract by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), 2011 was for a sum of N6.4 billion (N6,355,609,124.53).
The scope of contract was to include site clearance and earthworks; construction of culverts (pipe and box) of various sizes; drainages; construction of two bridges of 3-span (45m) and 5-span (75m); rehabilitation of one bridge; as well as pavement and surfacing.
In February, commuters faced daily gridlock on Abuja-Keffi road due to the delay in completion, a development which necessitated the explanation given by the minister at the time. t
He had said: “The Karshi-Apo road is a project that should have been delivered by now. One of the main challenges faced in that road has to do with error in the design whereby, a huge rock outcrop on the alignment of the road corridor became very difficult to be able to arrange. But we are very happy to say that it is now almost taken care of. I believe within a few months time hopefully before onset of the rains this year, that road would be open. “Already a portion of that road which links Tundun Wada on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway via old and new Karshi is now very motorable because of the bridge constructed there by the Ecological Fund, which was commissioned about a month ago.”
