On January 12, the minister of works, David Umahi, and his counterpart, minister of finance and co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, inspected the Abuja–Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Highway.

A statement released by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji explained that President Bola Tinubu views the road as very critical for the socio-economic advancement of the nation.

Orji said: “The dual carriageway which has been a source of concern to road users because of the many dilapidated spots and security challenges, was awarded to Julius Berger Plc but could not be completed because of security and funding challenges.

“But the administration of Mr. President views the road as very critical for the socio-economic advancement of the nation and is therefore committed to completing the project on a record time.”

Umahi assured contractors that funding would not be a problem.

He said: “We have got a commitment from the Honourable Minister of Finance to make payment, and I am very sure if we pay Julius Berger Plc according to the commitment on funding, it will complete the job

“We have issues with reviewing the contract sum, and we will sort that out.

“We sent our technical team to re-examine the subgrade, which will be the basis of our redesign, let me emphasize that this is the first project we are touring in this place, and Mr President in his Renewed Hope Agenda has expressed his deep concern on the completion of the project and he has directed that everything must be done to get the entire project completed”

Edun assured of the unwavering commitment of the Federal Government in the timely funding of the project in line with the agreed milestones.

He said: “Under the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we are both here on inspection to hear the commitment of the contractor handling the project and to support them, to as soon as possible complete this all-important reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria -Kano Road.”

Edun described the works sector as one of the most strategic sectors that will add value to the economic development agenda of President Tinubu.

He said: “We want to urge the contractor to do more. Infrastructure is a critical priority of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. That is how we can get food prices down.

“Through transportation and easy transportation of agricultural products, we want to move freely across the country. To bring down the prices and inflation, we will be doing more on the funding.”

The inspection team included Directors from both the Ministry of Works and Finance, Managing Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr Dr Lars Richter who conducted the two ministers round the projects, and several other stakeholders. (The Nation)

•Minister of works, David Umahi, and his counterpart, Minister of finance, Olawale Edun, during an inspection visit to the Abuja–Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Highway.

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