President Bola Tinubu has approved the redesign of the remaining 127 kilometers of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway, opting for Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) in place of asphalt.
A statement from the Ministry on Wednesday revealed that the contract for the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road, awarded in three sections to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) Plc on December 20, 2017, was initially valued at N155.7 billion, with a 36-month completion period.
According to the statement, only Section II (Kaduna-Zaria) has been completed and partially handed over, while Section III (Zaria-Kano) is partially finished.
Section I remains in a severely deteriorated state, further worsened by continuous wear and tear as well as harsh weather conditions.
To address the difficulties faced by road users and in line with the current administration’s goal of improving critical infrastructure and transportation as catalysts for economic growth, the ministry confirmed that Section I has been redesigned and re-scoped.
It reads, “The President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has approved that the remaining 127 kilometres of the Rehabilitation of Abuja – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano Dual Carriageway, Section I (Abuja – Kaduna) be redesigned using continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) instead of the present asphaltic one.”
“The contract, divided into three (3) sections, was awarded to Messrs Julius Berger (Nig.) PLC on 20th December 2017 at an initial sum of N155, 748,178,425.50 billion (one hundred and fifty-five billion, seven hundred and forty-eight million, one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five naira, fifty kobo) with a completion period of thirty-six (36) months.”
Ministry’s stance on the use of concrete technology
Early in his tenure, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, championed the adoption of asphalt surfacing for road projects nationwide. He expressed his readiness to challenge any federal contractors opposing the use of concrete technology in the execution of these projects.
- Umahi explained that the use of asphalt by some contractors is draining government funds, and any contractor unwilling to adopt concrete technology will not be awarded projects by the ministry.
Termination of contract with Julius Berger
- The redesign of the project comes on the heels of the federal government terminating the contract for the Abuja-Kaduna Road project with construction company, Julius Berger over the non-compliance with reviewed cost, scope of work and stoppage of work.
- The Ministry noted that, over the past 13 months, it has been in ongoing discussions with the company to reach an amicable agreement on the alignment, but these efforts have not been successful.
