The Nigerian Federal Government has set a target to complete the construction of the Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction section of the East-West Road by December.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced this during a recent site visit to KM 15 Section 3A of the East-West Road, which is being handled by RCC Nigeria Ltd.
According to a statement on the Ministry’s official website, Umahi emphasized that the President has ordered that the road project receive maximum attention and be finished by December. He urged the contractor to increase their efforts to meet this critical deadline.
“It is Presidential order that this road should be given the maximum attention, and that’s why he asked me to come and look at it, and then give him a report. So, we’re looking at December for project delivery, but certainly not at the pace that RCC is going,” Umahi said.
While commending the quality of work done so far, the Works Minister stressed the need for the contractor to intensify efforts by working on at least six different sections simultaneously. He warned that if RCC Nigeria Ltd. does not accelerate their pace, they may have to relinquish control of some parts of the project to another contractor.
The statement also noted that Umahi visited other sections of the East-West Road with ongoing construction. He emphasized that more robust construction measures have been introduced to address pavement failures and years of infrastructural neglect on the East-West Road in South-South Nigeria.
What you should know
A few weeks ago, Nairametrics reported on a significant development involving the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC). In June 2024, Minister Umahi publicly criticized RCC for its failure to complete even a single kilometre of the 15-kilometer East-West Road section from Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction in Rivers State, despite receiving over N40 billion in mobilization funds.
“We are very sad with the manners and behaviours of this contractor, RCC. The federal government has paid over 40 billion on this project, and not even one kilometre has been completed,” Umahi was quoted as saying.
The delay in the project was attributed by RCC to the ongoing importation of necessary machinery. However, this explanation was deemed unacceptable by the Federal Government.
Minister Umahi emphasized that no requests for price variation from RCC would be entertained, stating that the project did not warrant any price adjustments. He issued a seven-day ultimatum to RCC, warning that failure to remobilize would result in the termination of their contract.