Nigerians have been given assurances by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing that the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Express Way restoration project will be finished in the first quarter of 2024.
The Nation reported that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Mahmuda Mamman, made this statement to reporters on Friday after visiting the ongoing project.
Following a motion by the Member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, who expressed worry over the project’s slow pace, the House of Representatives had within the week ordered the Ministry to speed up the completion of the project.
The Permanent Secretary stated that the security issues formerly present on the Abuja-Kaduna axis of the road were to blame for the project’s delayed progress, adding that now that those issues have been resolved, the contractor has promised to complete the whole project by the first quarter of 2024.
He highlighted that in order to guarantee completion, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing would adhere to the contractor’s deadline.
According to Mamman, “We started this journey from Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano before coming to Western Bypass.” The goal of the visit is familiarisation and monitoring. We are outside the office to view the practical issues since, if we don’t leave, we won’t be able to see the issue.
He clarified that the purpose of the familiarisation tour was for them to identify the difficulties and come up with remedies to lessen the issue.
Mamman also praised the road project’s quality and asked the contractor to complete it by the deadline.
The Permanent Secretary emphasized that due to the awful nature of the Kaduna Western bypass, he and his team would mandate the contractor assigned to fully commence the work.
He further stated that, for the western bypass, the project has no funding issue while the Abuja – Kaduna – Kano express way had challenges of funding.