Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa Expressway reconstruction begins February — Fashola

The Federal Government has said the reconstruction of the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa dual carriageway will begin in February.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this during an inspection of ongoing federal road projects in Osun State on Monday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), had on September 25, 2019 approved the reconstruction of the expressway.

Fashola said that the road, covering a distance of not less than 112 kilometres, would cost the Federal Government N79 billion.

He added that it would be handled by Kopek Construction Company.

The minister, represented by Mr Funso Adebiyi, the Director of Highways, South-West, said that the road, like every other road in the country, was of economic importance to the government.

Fashola noted that the reconstruction work would be completed in the next three years.

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The minister described the expressway as one of the busiest roads in the country in terms of traffic volume.

He added that the Federal Government had continued to maintain the road through palliative and maintenance work.

Fashola, however, appealed to commuters plying the road to co-operate with the contractor that would be handling the project.

He said that this was to ensure that the contractor would be able to deliver it on time.

“There is no doubt that the reconstruction may bring some discomfort, but we will try as much as possible to minimise the discomfort,” the minister said.

Fashola also said that the Federal Government would complete all the ongoing federal road projects in the state.

On the 34-kilometre-length Ila-Orangun-Kwara boundary road, Fashola said that the project would cost the Federal Government N5.1 billion.

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He added that the government had spent N1.5 billion to complete 10 kilometres of the road.

Also, the minister said that the ongoing Efon-Alaye-Iwaraja-Ilesa 21-kilometre road construction would cost the government N4 billion.

He said that the Federal Government had spent N2.9 billion to complete 12 kilometres of the road.

The minister added that the 22-kilometre Lagere-Ife-Ilesa road construction would also cost the government N9 billion.
He said N3 billion had been spent on the road, while work had reached 30 per cent completion.

The minister also said that the government was working hard to complete the 32-kilometre Gbongan-Iwo road.
Fashola reiterated the government’s commitment to infrastructural development in the country.

He commended Kopek Construction Company for a quality job done on the ongoing road constructions in the state.