The Nigerian government has started emergency intervention on the Benin-Asaba Highway under the Ministry of Works “Operation Rescue” initiative.
The road which is concessioned is being rehabilitated by the Ministry with the aim of restoring safe, smooth, and uninterrupted movement along the corridor.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi kick started the intervention when he inaugurated the”Operation Rescue Benin -Asaba Expressway” at Benin City, Edo State, southern Nigeria.
The Benin-Asaba Highway is a strategic Federal Highway that commences at AIF Roundabout in Benin City, Edo State, and terminates at Summit Junction in Asaba, Delta State, with a distance of 125km.
The road which was concessioned to the Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company (BAECC) is to be maintained by the concessionaire.
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However, it was established that the concessionaire lacks the technical and finapncial capabilities to execute the repair project.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Works, Mohammed Ahmed.
Ahmed said Mr. Umahi has personally been monitoring the implementation of the concession project, through several site visits and issued instructions via the Independent Engineer of the site for the Concessionaire to stick to the Ministry’s standards and methodology, which were not complied with leading to the worsening of the road condition.
Hence, the Ministry’s intervention to fix the critically failed sections of the Expressway, through the deployment of equipment and personnel.
According to the Minister, the emergency intervention is focused on achieving immediate traffic relief, while providing a sustainable engineering solution to the identified problem spots.
“We are determined to address the failed sections and, thereafter, provide a durable solution that will serve Nigerians for many years.
” This is not a new contract but an immediate solution to the plight of road users,” Umahi said.
The Minister therefore called on road users and people along the corridor to cooperate with the Ministry’s officials and traffic-management personnel, as emergency works commence.
“I am pleading with motorists to exercise patience, observe traffic-management directives and drive cautiously around active construction zones,” he said.
He promised that the Ministry would continue to monitor progress and take all necessary measures to minimise hardship during the period of the intervention.
