The Federal Government, on Tuesday denied that cash crunch stalled work on Lagos-Ibadan expressway project, contrary to a media report.
A newspaper (not the Nigerian Tribune) had reported that cash crunch was threatening government’s plan to rebuild the road and alleged that the government was already considering a fresh concession to investors to make the N167 billion project a reality.
According to the report, in the proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the government targeted to collaborate with investors, the Infrastructure Bank, Julius Berger Plc and Reynolds Construction Company Limited (RCC), while about N23 million was voted in the 2014 budget for the hiring of consultants on the PPP scheme.
Reacting to the report, the Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, denied the story.
The minister, who denied the story through the Director of Information and Head of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Bisi Agbonhin, after he was contacted personally by the Nigerian Tribune, said the report was false.
“I can categorically telling you the story is not true. If you can text me your e-mail address, I will forward to you a copy of the ministry’s reaction,” he said.
However, President Goodluck Jonathan, during presentation of 2014 budget before joint sitting of National Assembly disclosed that preliminary works on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway commenced in 2013.
Stating that N128.65 billion was proposed to be spent by the Federal Ministry of Works this year, the president noted that the 2014 budget would enable considerable progress and indeed, completion of some major projects, such as the East-West road, the dualisation of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road, the rehabilitation of the Ayingba-Otukpo road, and the dualisation of the Kano-Maiduguri road.
He said: “We will also increase the pace of work on important roads such as the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, the second Niger Bridge, and the Loko-Oweto Bridge.
It will be recalled that he Federal Government terminated the 25-year concession awarded to Bi-Courtney Limited in 2009, at N89.53 billion for 25 years, for the construction and maintenance of the 105-kilometre expressway in November 2012, on the grounds of what it described as failure by the firm to adhere to its terms.
Government reawarded the reconstruction work to Messrs Julius Berger Plc and RCC in June 2013, after which President Jonathan flagged off work on the project, which has contract duration of 48 months.