The Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, on Monday said that the emergency rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway would last eight weeks after which reconstruction would begin.
Onolememen spoke at the Sagamu interchange during an inspection of the expressway.
NAN recalls that the Federal Government (FG) had on Nov. 19, announced the termination of the concession of the expressway, granted to Bi-Courtney Consortium in May 2009, due to a breach of agreement.
Following the termination, the FG engaged the services of Julius Berger Plc. and RCC Nigeria Ltd? to begin work immediately on the reconstruction of the expressway.
While Julius Berger was engaged to handle Section 1 from Lagos to Sagamu interchange, RCC was signed on for Section 2 from Sagamu to Ibadan.
Onolememen said on Monday that the government was committed to reconstructing the expressway and providing good motorable roads in all parts of the country.
“The recovery and rehabilitation work would last eight weeks; between now and then, all the processes leading to the award of the reconstruction contract, in line with the Public Procurement Act, would have been completed.
“We would expect that as soon as the rehabilitation work is completed, the reconstruction work would commence,” he said.
The minister, however, declined comment on the cost of the rehabilitation work but said that the Public Procurement Act made provision for “adoption of rates and the 2010 rates to emergency works are applied”.
He said that the Federal Governmnet did not incur additional expenses by terminating the Bi-Courtney agreement.
“In terms of direct cost, there is no cost to the Federal Government in the cancellation of this contract,” he said.
According to him, the government is also committed to completing the rehabilitation of the Benin-Ore-Sagamu road.
The minister said that the government was also extending its intervention in road rehabilitation to the Enugu-Port Harcourt, 9th Mile-Makurdi and other major highways in the country.
On the Lagos-Badagry expressway, he said that the Lagos State Government requested and got approval to reconstruct it and the FG would intervene if the state said it could not continue.
“At any point in time, if the Federal Ministry of Works is invited to look into it and Lagos State Government says it will not be able to do it, then, we will do the needful on that road,” he said.
On the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, he said that the road was ?a “work in progress’’ but that the ministry was constrained by funds and more budgetary allocation would be made for it in the 2013 budget.
He said the government was also working on how to reach a sustainable agreement with stakeholders on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the road.
Mr Wolfgang Loesser, Division Manager, Division West, Julius Berger Nig. Plc, while fielding questions from journalists, said that the company was beginning work from the worst portions of the area it was contracted to handle.
He told newsmen that the company was removing asphalt from the failed portions and laying fresh ones, as well as filling pot holes.
He said that the company would also work on the road shoulders to extend it a little, to reduce accidents.
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