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Nass recommends repair of
Apapa-Oworonsoki Expressway
By Lekan Sanni,
correspondent, Lagos
The expressway from Tin Can Island to Oworonsoki in Lagos
metropolis has been recommended for total overhaul by the National Assembly,
which has also berated indigenous contractors handling road projects across the
country for shoddy jobs.
The House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Works, which
concluded a tour of projects being handled by the Federal Road Maintenance
Agency (FERMA) in the South West in Lagos at the weekend, also hinted that
direct labour approach may be adopted by the Federal Ministry of Works in road
construction and maintenance.
Speaking at the end of the tour, Chairman of the Committee,
Mr. Duro Faseyi, said that the presence and importance of the Apapa ports has
made it mandatory for the federal government to embark on total rehabilitation
of the Apapa-Oworonsoki Expressway.
The expressway, he noted, is very important to the
sustenance of the nation’s economy.
Faseyi observed that the direct labour agency of the
ministry, if well equipped could perform better than indigenous contractors.
According to him, from the assessment of the committee,
works done by the agency were better than those of local contractors.
“We noticed that most of the jobs handled by the
direct labour of the Ministry of Works are very good. But the Federal
government needs to equip them.
“The projects they handled are very good, better than
some of the contractors’ jobs we visited. So, we have concluded that if
they are well equipped, they will do better at reduced cost.
“Honestly, most of the projects handled by indigenous
contractors were shoddily executed. So, if the federal government is trying to
encourage or patronize them, they should brace up and be ready to do quality
jobs that could compete with their foreign counterparts,” the chairman
said.
The committee, he noted, found out during the tour of the
South West that the Operation 500 was highly successful, noting that areas not
touched would benefit from operation 1000 which takes off early next year.
Also commenting, the Federal Controller for Works in Lagos,
Adedolapo Adeniyi disclosed that with the weather getting better, work would
commence fully this monthy or filling portholes on federal roads in the state.
Already, work has commenced from Abule Egba and has reached
Ikeja in an operation he described as a continuous process.
Adeniyi identified the age of the roads as being responsible
for their getting bad almost immediately after rehabilitation.
Many of them are between 20 to 25 years, while the average
lifespan of a road is about 10 years.
The controller noted that if fund were to be available, the
proper thing to do was outright asphalt overlay.
According tohim, Julius Berger submitted a bill of N11
billion to do an overlay on the Lagos-Ota road which he said is beyond what the
government can afford.
But he said that providing the amount is the only thing that
can salvage the road, considering its age.
“Presently, because of fund paucity, we are filling
the potholes. FERMA would be equipped to maintain and provide additional
lanes,” Adeniyi added.
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