Federal Government says it will deliver Section II and III of the Kaduna-Zaria road by the end of 2022.
Mr. Folorunsho Esan, the Director, Highway Construction and Rehabilitation, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, who led a team of officials from the ministry gave the assurance during a two day inspection of the Kaduna-Zaria road sections II and III of the project in Kaduna.
Section II is 146 kilometre road while section III is 14 kilometre road and it joins up with the Kaduna-Abuja section.
According to the Director, looking at the extent of work already done by the contractor, the road project will be completed within the year.
“From what I’m seeing now, this project of section ll will be delivered before the end of the year. Section two and three will be delivered this year, it’s only Abuja- Kaduna project that will be left.”
On possible challenges faced by the contractor, Esan said every complaint brought to the notice of the ministry had been addressed, adding that nothing would hinder the work.
Also, while on the inspection site, Mr. Theo Scheepers, Project Manager, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, said the road would be completed six months ahead of projected completion time.
He disclosed that, the issues which would have hindered progress have been adequately resolved with the support of the ministry and cooperation of stakeholders like the Local government Chairmen and community leaders.
Kaduna-Jos Road
Meanwhile, Esan had commended the speed of contractors executing the rehabilitation of the 199.50 kilometre Kaduna-Pambeguwa-Jos road currently at 18 per cent completion stage.
Esan explained that the contractor is working well and had achieved a lot within the little time of assuming work on site 10 months ago.
“The quality of work is satisfactory, we have 35 kilometres of binder and if you do not look properly you would think the job is finished. We are still expecting another layer on top but already,18 per cent work is done currently.
“When you think of the time of completion, you would think of the funding that is available, the funding has to align with the time frame and we are working with the available resources in order to ensure the project is completed within the next 12 months.
“It also involves the maintenance of existing bridges along the road with different spans. Also, the contractor of the project, Setraco Big Ltd, complained that insecurity was the main challenge confronting the project.
On his part, Mr Mustafa Janet, Project Manager, Setraco said they had no issue with funding, and that the company had the support of the communities in the area.
“All the communities are cooperating with us and by the grace of God we will deliver the work on time.
“When rainy season comes, we have to reduce the speed of work to deliver the best quality on the work.
Voice of Nigeria reports that the project, which is projected to be completed within 24 months, is valued at over 38 billion naira.
