2nd Niger Bridge to be completed in 24 months – contractor
Julius Berger plc has given assurance that the 2nd Niger Bridge will be completed in February 2022. Friedrich Wieser, project supervisor of the company, gave the assurance when minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola, visited and inspected the project on Tuesday.
He said the project was 33 percent as against 20 percent when the minister visited last, pointing out that the company had mobilised 1300 workers and 425 equipment to the site to meet the target scheduled. Wieser said the work on the seven kilometres access road world be completed in September this year.
“This job is going on smoothly and I am confident that the access road from Onitsha end and Asaba end will be completed by September 2020. At the moment no challenges, we are following our programme as scheduled.
“When the minister was here last time we have done 20 per cent progress, now 33 percent,’’ he said.
He affirmed that compensation to the host community was not the responsibilities of the contractor but rather the employed, saying, “We never have any disturbance because of compensation.”
The minister said the project was going scheduled, added that the recovered looted fund to foreign countries were being used to develop such infrastructure.
“You are aware of the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to recover money that was stolen out of the country. This is one of the projects in the benefit of that money.
“This is one of the yesterday miss-opportunities that have become today’s responsibility for infrastructure. Again, I reiterate that this is front and centre issue for this government under President Buhari to deliver infrastructure to grow the economy,” hola said.
According to Fashola, until the bridge is finished, hundreds and thousands here on this site will be employed here; men and machines, meaning also that lubricant are being purchase.
“I think the total consumption of diesel throughout the life circle of this project is about 19million litres of diesel; Julius Berger does not make diesel, so people who supplies and distributes impact the petroleum sector of the industry.
“Cement multiplies thousand tones, iron rods and others; so people will see first the economic, employment and productivity impact to actually funding the project.”
The minister had also visited the on-going road rehabilitation outstanding section of Onitsha-enugu Expressway: AmanseaEnugu full rehabilitation of Umunya section in Anambra state, Federal housing, Ishiagu and others.
Fas