Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on inspection of ongoing work on the multi-billion-naira Port Harcourt Ring Road on Wednesday, assured that the project would be delivered on schedule.
He made the commitment when he visited the site of the project to assess the extent of work that had been achieved.
The governor rode the stretch of road from off the Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road axis, through the Jesuit Memorial School to Elikpokwuodu Community, then to Rumuosi and Ozuoba communities, before terminating the inspection tour at UTC Junction.
The inspection tour traversed through three local government areas of the state, namely Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor, and Port Harcourt City.
Addressing journalists at the end of the inspection, Governor Fubara explained that the contract for the Port Harcourt Ring Road was the first of such agreements that he had signed.
He said so much money had been expended on the project, with the driving objective of making sure that it was delivered to the Rivers people.
“I think that we are good, considering the understanding that we had with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC.
“We signed off that in 36 months, this project will be done and delivered, and with what we are seeing, we are meeting that target.
“I think that we have a few issues; the price of things at the time we signed the contract and what exists presently is no longer the same.
“But whatever it is, I have assured them that we are going to provide the necessary support to make sure that we deliver this project,” Governor Fubara stated.
He added, “You know this project is very important to us. It was one of the first things that I signed off on when I came in as governor of this state.
“It is a signature infrastructure project for me, whichever way anybody wants to look at it. We signed on for it. We are paying dearly for it, and it’s one of the objectives of this administration to make sure that we deliver it to our people.”.
In his remarks, the Managing Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr Lars Richter, who conducted the Governor round the project site, said work has advanced after piling and laying of beams on the first flyover, which started on January 15, 2024, and was completed two months later.
Richter explained that while they have intensified work on the second flyover with beams ready to be laid, significant strides have been achieved in laying out the road and the drains for accelerated construction.
He assured me that the project would be delivered on schedule and within specifications.
The Nigerian Tribune gathered that the project, estimated at a cost of about N200 billion, has seen the Rivers State Government pay about N150 billion in advance.
The project was conceptualised under the administration of the former Governor and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
Immediate past Governor and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, he redesigned it and did a ground-breaking ceremony after the swearing in of his now estranged political son, Governor Fubara, as his first major project as the Chief Executive of Rivers State.
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