The House of Representatives’ Committee on Works over the weekend inspected the ongoing construction work on the Abuja-Kano road, as well as Kano-Katsina roads and expressed dissatisfaction with the work pace.
Among the projects inspected included the 165 km Zuba-Kaduna road, 75 km Kaduna-Zaria road, and Zaria to Kano roads being handled by Julius Berger Construction Company.
Other projects inspected by the lawmakers were Kano western bypass and Kano-Katsina roads being handled by Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company and a Chinese consortium, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) respectively.
Some of the lawmakers who spoke to journalists about their discoveries during the tour lamented the way the projects are being handled, describing it as disappointing.
At western bypass in Kano, the lawmakers had to suspend their oversight inspection indefinitely because the management of the company handling the project, Dantata & Sawoe was not properly represented to respond to questions arising from their discoveries.
The Committee Chairman, Engr. Abubakar Kabir Bichi was visibly angry as he called off the inspection over what he described as unfortunate conduct of the company’s management which he alleged deliberately refused to avail itself to clear some grey issues about the project.
“As far as we are concerned, we wrote to them informing them that we are coming. We expect to see their management or someone that can take responsibility on their behalf. In view of this, we adjourn this exercise indefinitely,” he said.
Daily Trust learnt that the Kano western bypass project involves the construction of 26.6km dual carriageway starting from Naibawa Km10 to Kano-Kaduna road; route50 (A2) and ending at Dawanau village Km 15 on the Kano-Katsina road route 95 (A9) was initially awarded in 2007 as an extension of the Kano-Maiduguri dual carriageway.
The contract was awarded on 25th April 2007 at the sum of N13,226, 801, 593.27 and has an initial commencement date of 20th May 2007, and the initial contract period of 36 months which ended on the 20th of May 2010.
Though the contractors said the contract was at 98 percent level of completion, the lawmakers were however not happy over the laxity that characterised the handling of the project.
Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, representing Rano, Kibiya, and Bunkure federal constituency, disclosed that out of 173km Kaduna-Kano road, only 30km has been completed.
According to Rurum, “We started the tour from Zuba, that is the 00 levels to Kaduna; from Kaduna to Zaria, from Zaria to Kano, and as the chairman and the entire committee rightly stated we are not happy with the way and manner the work is being done.
Earlier when the team visited the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the Government House, Engr. Kabir said “Despite collecting N70 billion out of the N155 billion total sum of the contract, Berger is still yet to do substantial work on the projects and the contract tenure is 36 months and the company spent 26 months on the project and they have only 9 months remaining.
“In phase one of the project, from Zuba to Kaduna, unfortunately, only 10 km has been executed out of the 165 km while from Kaduna to Zaria only five to six km completed out of the 75 km, then from Zaria to Kano, only 11km executed.”
He said that “the House will not accept any extension of the completion date or a variation of the project.
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