It's not only in Lagos good things are happening, Sen. Akpabio
- The senate president Godswill Akpabio represented president Tinubu at the Lagos State’s inauguration of the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway.
- David Umahi enlightened Nigerian government on the benefits of using concrete technology in roads’ construction.
- Akpabio hinted on yet-to-be commissioned federal projects in FCT by president Tinubu
The senate president Godswill Akpabio represented president Tinubu at the Lagos State’s inauguration of the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway
The Senate president, Godswill Akpabio said the ongoing federal government projects, including the current Asokoro to AYA Roundabout in Abuja, is a telling sign that it is not only in Lagos State that good things are happening in the country.
Akpabio made this statement during the inauguration of the newly reconstructed Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota-Oshodi Expressway, a 36.02km expressway which links Nigeria’s premier ports, Apapa and Tin Can Island to other larger parts of Lagos.
Speaking at the occasion, the president of Senate, Akpabio praised the committed efforts of the minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi for the new road-construction technology of using concretes, noting his idea as a great work.
Akpabio hinted that other major parts of the FCT projects would be commissioned this week.
”This is a great feat by any standards, and it is all for Nigeria. I congratulate the Ministry of Works and the contractors for the great work,” he said.
”It is not only in Lagos that these good things are happening. From the a Presidential Villa in Asokoro to the AYA Roundabout in the capital city (Abuja), you will notice a great deal of work and some of these projects will be commissioned this week.”
Further stressing the importance of the Lagos State inaugurated project, which was executed by the Federal Ministry of Works, Godswill Akpabio who represented president Tinubu said the Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway was purposed to “enhance access to the ports, boost commercial activities, and spur economic development”.
The project was earlier constructed between 1975 and 1978, but due to lack of regular maintenance the road was left in a bad start for years, creating delay in movement of goods from the popular Apapa Wharf in Lagos to other areas within or outside the state.
According to an official document, the road reconstruction was carried out in four sections, using Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP), by Dangote Industries Limited under the tax credit method of infrastructure funding, with Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited as the subcontractor.
The rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge, the longest of three bridges connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, spans about 11.8km, it said.
The bridge was “commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1990” and had previously undergone significant rehabilitation to improve its structural integrity and extend its lifespan”.
Remarking on the use of concrete technology, Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi enlightened that this has “durability” and would help Nigeria overcome “the rising cost of bitumen used in making asphalt”.
‘‘We want our contractors to migrate to the use of concrete technology for road construction,’’ the Minister said, while describing the inauguration of the road as another plus on the utility of tax credits in the country,” he said.
”We had to replace all the expansion joints, and we also noticed that over the years all the maintenance on the bridge was only for the surface and that created a lot of super elevation, pot holes, and increased the dead load on the bridge resulting in increased deflection,” Umahi added.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr. Yakubu Kofarmata, stated that Engr. Umahi “saved Nigeria a total of N1.19 trillion through renegotiations of some ongoing road project costs across the country”.
”What we are witnessing today is Nigeria working under the Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, and the determination to have a better Nigeria where infrastructural facilities are functioning,” Kofarmata said.
