The Federal Government has given assurance that the construction of the Abuja – Kano highway would be completed before the end of the tenure of the Buhari Administration.
A statement released on Friday by the Deputy Director (Press) of the Ministry of Works and Housing, Salisu Badamasi, quoted the Director, Highways Construction and Rehabilitation, Engineer Funso Adebiyi, as saying that the project had been progressing appreciably.
“We have made a lot of progress. You can see that over 100km, though not at a stretch, have been completed under sections one (Abuja – Kaduna), 40km completed under section two (Kaduna – Zaria), and 70km completed under section three (Zaria – Kano)”
“We are satisfied with the quality of work going on and we are working to increase the pace of the work.
“You can see that work is going on simultaneously on all sections of both lanes of the dual carriage 375km from Abuja – Kaduna – Kano,” he said.
Reacting to allegations of delayed work, Mr Adebiyi said, “It is important that I correct the wrong impression by the people that work is not moving.
“We are working to meet up with the deadline and at the same time subjecting all the work to quality assurance test to deliver a good job”
Recall that lawmakers have expressed disappointment over the pace of work on the 375km road which was awarded on December 20, 2017 to Julius Berger Plc with the project commencing on May 21, 2018 with a 36 months completion period.
That meant the road was supposed to be completed by May this year, a deadline not likely to be met.
And Mr Adebiyi did not explain how they were working to meet the deadline.
The Director, Highways Construction and Rehabilitation, the statement added, explained while on a routine assessment visit to the project site that the work was initially for rehabilitation but turned into full reconstruction.
He assured of the commitment of the government in completing the work and saying that it was regularly tracking the progress of the work with a view to sorting out any identified challenges.
Commuters have been facing many challenges on the Abuja – Kaduna – Kano road, including accidents that have caused loss of lives and property since the construction began.
