Ajimobi flags off Ibadan circular road project Friday

OYO State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi will on Friday flag off the construction of Ibadan Circular Road.

This information was contained in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, on Wednesday.

Ajimobi who decried the neglect of the circular road project 15 years after the idea was conceived, avowed that the project upon completion will ease intra and inter-city traffic congestion and further drive socioeconomic development of the state.

It would be recalled that the Lam Adesina administration had in 2002 constituted an inter-ministerial committee for the construction of the road.

The committee had subsequently proposed a survey design towards ascertaining the cost of the project for eventual award to a contractor, but this was not implemented until the end of that regime.
The statement read, “In the pursuit of his administration’s agenda to transform Oyo into a modern state of his dream, Governor Abiola Ajimobi identified the socio-economic benefits of the circular road project to the state and has diligently pursued its manifestation.

“In realization of this vision, the state government signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the road through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with ENL Consortium Limited.”

“The circular road, when completed, is expected to ease intra and inter-city traffic congestion, especially for Ibadan which is fast becoming an industrialized city under the current administration.”

“The circular road will serve as a bye pass for inter-city traffic on routes outside Ibadan, while it will open a new economic corridor for controlled development in line with the Ibadan Master Plan.’’

“It would also boost trade and commerce, enhance revenue generation as well as create employment opportunities for the teeming youth in the state.”

It would also be recalled that the contract for the survey of the road was awarded in 2005 by Adesina’s successor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, while the engineering design was awarded in 2005 and concluded in 2007.

Although the contract for the construction of the road, which was divided into two phases, was awarded to two contractors by the regime, the project was later cancelled by the Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala administration on assumption of office.