..Says sit-at-home delaying project
By Chesa Chesa
The Second Niger Bridge, which was billed for completion last month, February but was delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown and EndSARS protests, is now at 91 percent completion.
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, made this disclosure Thursday during the Special Weekly briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communications Team at the State House Abuja.
Fashola also disclosed that that weekly siy-at-home every Monday in the Southeast has delayed the completion of the bridge as 52 days in a year are lost in the process.
The briefing was to enable him provide further updates on key collaborations between the Federal Government and the State Governments in the implementation of some of the major reforms being executed by the Ministry and the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF).
According to him, 1,486 people have been directly employed for the Second Niger Bridge while another 8,110 indirect jobs have been created.
He put the cost of three major PIDF projects at N1.3 trillion. The projects are Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway (375km): N797 billion, Second Niger Bridge (11.59km): N206 billion and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (127km): N310 billion.
On when the projects will be completed, Fashola said that Lagos Ibadan Expressway and Second Niger Bridge are on course to be completed this year 2022, while the main carriageway of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano expressway is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2023, while that ancillary works will be completed later.
Meanwhile, the Minister has warned motorists to shelve the temptation to exceed 100km/h on completed roads, to avoid crashes.
He said the warning became necessary when he got messages from some of the road users commending the quality of work done, and that they are doing 150 100km/h due to the smoothness of the roads.
He also decried the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and other petroleum products on the roads, saying that persistent leakages and droplets on the roads diminish their longevity.
