Posted by By Soni Daniel, Port Harcourt on
The Federal Government has warned that it will not approve any upward review for the completion of the Mile Three-Airport Road in Port Harcourt.
The Federal Government has warned that it will not approve any upward review for the completion of the Mile Three-Airport Road in Port Harcourt.
The road, which was awarded to a firm in 1999 at the cost of N1.8bn by the government, was meant to reduce traffic on the Ikwerre Road.
But the project had not progressed substantially since the award of the contract.
The contractors have even withdrawn from the site while weeds have taken over some portions of the road.
The Minister of Works, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, who visited the road on Tuesday in the course of his tour of Federal Roads in the state, expressed dissatisfaction with the delay in the completion of the job.
Adebayo asked the contractor to first mobilise to the site before making any request for an upward review of the job.
The minister also inspected Onne and East-West roads, which are for dualisation, as well as the Bodo-Bonny road, which is progressing.
The contractor handling the Bodo-Bonny road had called for prompt release of funds to ensure the early completion of the job.
He had also complained of incessant harassment by unknown youths demanding sundry payments.
Community leaders along the East-West Road had recently expressed their worry that work had not started many months after the contract had been awarded to some contracting firms.
Julius Berger, one of the contractors, which won the job, is reportedly declining the offer because of the volatile nature of the Niger Delta.
One of the workers of the construction giant was kidnapped in August this year by militants in Port Harcourt.
He was however, released after one month in captivity.