Lagos-calabar Highway: Group backs FG over choice of Hitech

THE Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has expressed support for the federal government over the selection of Hitech for the construction of the Lagoscalabar Coastal Highway.

The IMPI, in a statement on Monday signed by Niyi Akinsiju, its chairman, said aside from successfully handling the Bar Beach Shoreline protection, Hitech has a history of constructing coastal highways with reinforced concrete outside of Nigeria.

It said: “To establish Hitech’s fit into the capabilities to deliver on the coastal road contract, we made both discreet and open enquiries on the company’s credentials and contracts portfolio and records.

“We can assert, based on evidence garnered, that Hitech may pass as the only Nigerian company able to construct the coastal road as conceived. The only other company that may claim near capacity is the construction behemoth, Julius Berger Plc.

“But over the years, Hitech has shown a specialisation in shoreline and coastal roads construction than Julius Berger. A typical reference in this regard was the Bar Beach shoreline contract awarded to the two companies at different times and how they performed therein.”

The group noted that in June 2003, approval was given by President Olusegun Obasanjo for a permanent solution to the menace of the Atlantic Ocean, which threatened at that time to engulf major parts of Victoria Island, Lagos.

It said: “Funds were released to Julius Berger and other contractors to put in place a permanent structure to stop the sea’s advance, which had reportedly ebbed major portions of the Ahmadu Bello Way. Three years later, by April 2006, the evaluation of the work done by Julius Berger showed that nothing had changed at Bar Beach.

“Analysts, at that time, submitted that: “Unless the ongoing restoration of the shore line of the depleted Bar Beach in Victoria Island, Lagos is quickly completed, the likelihood of stopping what may be another Tsunami disaster, akin to the one that occurred in Asia in a not too long ago, is very slim.”

“In addition, the analysts averred that already, the ocean had claimed one lane of the ever busy Ahmadu Bello Way, forcing motorists from both sides to make do with the single lane, which was also not spared of threats by the ocean.

In 2009, the contract for the Bar Beach beach line management was awarded to Hitech Construction Company.