The Minister of Works, David Umahi, says President Bola Tinubu’s administration is putting an end to over three decades of substandard road construction in the country through the implementation of durable, high-quality infrastructure projects nationwide.
Speaking during the inspection of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road project, he said the Federal Government had adopted new engineering standards and technologies designed to ensure that Nigerian roads can last for 50 to 100 years without major repairs.
He explained that roads constructed in the country for the past 30 years had been substandard, saying, “because each administration works on them every time.
“The question you ask is actually why? The reason is because of our construction method, and that is why I tagged it that President Bola Tinubu is not constructing roads. He’s building roads.
“That is what I insisted, that we will use this road to show an example of what we can do when we dare to take the project from Julius Berger.
“But one significant thing that the President is doing is that he is building roads.
“Shortly, we will see the roads. What statement is the President making? He is telling you that the roads he is building under his administration are going to last between 50 and 100 years. You are not touching it.
“The problem of this country is that there are no major roads built in this country in the past 30 or 40 years that each administration has not been working on.”
Umahi faulted the model contractors have been using to do the roads, adding that the method of construction has been the problem.
He said, “When Julius Berger was doing the job, they removed the asphalt. They said they want to grind it with laterite.
“It is not a good construction method because they brought new laterite on the road.
“There is what is called the Californian Bearing Ratio (CBR), which is the strength of the sub-base.
“So, when you remove this and you bring fresh laterite, the compaction and consolidation will not be as cohesive and will not be solidified over time.
“So, it is bound to fail, and that is why you see that what Julius Berger completed was beginning to see failures, even while they were still constructing.”
Umahi explained that asphalt had a shelf life of 25 years, saying, ”So, after so many years, it starts wearing off.”
He, however, said the president was stopping this practice with the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway that would last for 50 years.
He assured Nigerians that the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Section project would be completed before the scheduled 12 months, by February 2026.
He explained the section that started four kilometres into Kogi and ended at Katended, while section 2 would also proceed accordingly.
Umahi said, “The president has paid over N120bn on this first contract, and it shows commitment and love for the people of the country, especially our northern brothers and sisters.
“The first project, N252bn, is made up of about 118 kilometres and 86 kilometres of carriageway, with 17 kilometres of wearing course in Kano.
“We have about 6 kilometres, which is an addition by the President at the end of the Kano section, and an additional 6 by 2, which is 12 kilometres. About 2 kilometres have been added to those 17 kilometres. The 6 kilometres by 2 is completed in the Kano sector. They are putting solar lights there.”
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, commended Umahi and other officials for their commitment to delivering quality road infrastructure, especially on the Abuja-Kaduna road, which is of economic importance.
Goronyo said, “Once again, we are here to serve. We have no time to waste.
“We have up to 285 pieces of equipment along the road from Abuja to Kaduna to make sure that we meet our target to finish on time or even before the time.”
He commended Tinubu’s drive towards infrastructure development.
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