Federal Government has assured that the long stretch of road from Apapa Port entrance down to Toll Gate, which is currently undergoing reconstruction will be completed and delivered before the end of 2020.
Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, gave this assurance on Saturday after inspection of the N72.9billion road project, broken into four different sections, which he undertook alongside Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is president of Dangote Group.
Also, Alhaji Dangote buttressed the assertion of the minister, saying the project, which is being done through the strategic partnership with his company, would be finished before the end of next year.
Addressing newsmen after the inspection, Fashola, who expressed satisfaction with the pace of work done so far on the road using concrete instead of bitumen, with the expected life-span of 40 years, said the enduring solution to the problem of congestion that had characterised the Apapa-Tincan-Osodi-Oworonshoki Road as approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under President Muhammadu Buhari was working, in spite of concern expressed by some Nigerians.
“The President, Muhammadu Buhari, submitted that there is an enduring solution to the problem that has characterised the port road, the Apapa-Tincan-Osodi-Oworonshoki Road when last year the Federal Executive Council approved that we should fund this road through the strategic partnership with the Dangote Group using the Tax Credit Initiative, some people expressed concern, but here we are the solution is working. It is a form of PPP. We have gone from Section 1 from the Port entrance right to Beach Land Estate and we saw the work going on there.
“We have passed Section 2 which is not part of the contract as we announced because it has just been reviewed. But what you saw in Section 2 now because it was made of the old bituminous type pavement, it is beginning also to show signs of wear. This is because of heavy axel load that characterised the usage around there and of course, we saw a lot of deposition of waste, refuse which inhibits the free flow of water which then gathered to begin to slowly damage the road from underneath.
“The sum and substance is that we would have to rethink our strategy and probably include Section 2 into this contract so that there is a continuous road network built of concrete from the Apapa Port entrance right through to the Toll Gate, but we are at the Oshodi area now where one side has been concluded and opened to traffic.
“This is how we intend to continue, to complete, open until we finish the entire road, we will do it in sections.
“As you have heard from the controller when the concrete is finally poured on the reinforcement and the iron rods that you saw on one section which is the final work on the foundational work that has already taken place, you would require a period for the concrete to cure. I think it is important for the commuters who are going through some inconvenience now to know that we mean well. We want to do a proper and an enduring job because the president’s mandate is that this must be an enduring solution. So we are to wait for the concrete to cure before the road can be opened.
“We expect that by the end of 2020, the entire road network will be finished, we will have a road that will last for 40 years, by that time also we also expect that part of the rail facility from Lagos to Ibadan will start some type of operation and, therefore, our roads will begin to last their actual design life span,” the minister said.
Fashola, whose inspection team was led by the Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Adedamola Kuti, described the ongoing road construction as a strategic economic intervention in the area of creating job opportunities for several unemployed Nigerians.
“The other point to also say and make is that many perhaps see a road but we also see an economy, a strategic economic intervention. The materials that are used instead of using bitumen, we are using made in Nigeria cement and that is good for keeping the cement factory going, for employing people who mix, who produce, who bag, who transport, whatever, economy going on there.
“We have heard from the Controller also, there about 5000 trucks on the aggregate that have moved from quarries to this site. That requires labour, it requires drivers, it requires trucks, it requires tyres, it requires fuel, that is the underline economy apart from 650 people who are employed in actual construction.
“So it’s an economy going and when people say how is President Buhari going to lift a 100million people out of poverty, these are some of the ways creating work, allowing industries to move. You see iron rods being used for re-enforcement, that’s part of the economy. So we want to call on all of those young boys and girls not getting anything to do to get back to productive work so that we can all build our collective and shared prosperity,” he said.
Besides, the minister said it was gratifying that businesses were now coming back to life in Apapa around Liverpool and Creek road where some portion of the road had been fixed and were being put to use, adding: “All of the businesses that have shut down on Creek Road, all of that, we expect to see property redevelopment, property renewal once the road is complete.
“And when the economy of Apapa returns, all the clearing, forwarding, shipping, newspaper companies, all of the people that are there doing businesses, the economy will come back. And you will see that when an economy comes back, it is shared prosperity and another significant step away from poverty,” the minister added further.
This was just as Fashola disclosed that work had so far been revived on other major roads, including Lagos/Badagry Expressway, Ikorodu/Shagamu, Lagos/Abeokuta and Lagos/Ibadan, assuring that things would certainly get better after the pains and discomfort people were currently passing through.
“I know it brings some pains and discomfort but as we finish them things will certainly get better,” he assured.
Also speaking with newsmen, Alhaji Dangote, who recalled that his two businesses operating from inside the port lost over N25billion in terms of profitability because of congestion between 2017 and 2018, assured that the road, which would be the best ever not only in Nigeria but Africa, on completion, would actually open up Nigeria’s economy.
According to him, the road would on completion “bring a lot of jobs and a lot of factories that have actually moved out, they would now be able to move in.
“What I can also assure you of is that this road would be finished before the end of next year,” he said.
The business mogul said the people as well as the companies along the road were very understanding and cooperating with the contractors handling the project and wanted the work delivered on time as most of the affected companies were currently operating at a loss, including those owned by him.
“If you look at it like us now we operate also inside the port. Two of our companies last year, if you look at our income between 2017 and also 2018, we lost over N25billion in terms of profitability because of congestion.
“We were able to produce but we were not able to get out of the port. But right now, with what the president has done, we have to be very very grateful that he has actually opened up on this and that’s why we are working day and night to make sure this road is delivered on time and also of the highest quality. And I can assure you this will be one of the best roads not only in Nigeria but in Africa,” Alhaji Dangote said.
and then