Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has insisted that no road contract would be awarded under his watch unless the project is done with a concrete layout.
Gatekeepers News reports Umahi said this during an inspection tour of the Oshodi Oworonshoki-Ojota Road in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria on Tuesday.
The ministry’s spokesman, Blessing Lere-Adams, while disclosing this in a statement, said, “The Minister who expressed satisfaction with the job done noted that it was about ninety-nine per cent done except for some finishing touches.
“He wondered why some contractors were against the more durable and cost reduction use of Concrete Technology that is the use of cement for road construction despite its advantages over bitumen which is more expensive and less durable, a situation he attributed to the fact that the bitumen produced recently are of lesser quality.
“The Minister noted that despite the high number of heavy trucks that ply the road it is still without defects adding that if it was an asphalt road it would have started failing and developing faults.
“He challenged contractors who are averse to the construction of concrete roads to come to Oworonshoki Road to see an example of its advantage over asphalt.”
The Minister, who also visited the Apongbon Bridge which caught fire earlier in the year, expressed hopes that the Federal Government would rehabilitate the facility and install solar lights in the area.
The statement added, “While at the Iponri section of the Eko Bridge the Engr. David Umahi called on the Lagos State Government to urge the people using the premises under it to clean the surroundings and make it beautiful and habitable for their use.
“At the Porto-Novo Liverpool round-about bridge, the Minister directed the Director, Design and Bridges, Engineer Adesanya Awosanya to send the report on the structural defects on it and other bridges that have similar problems to his office.”
