The Abuja-Kano road will be completed on May 29, 2025, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said.
The minister disclosed this when he unveiled the “Operation Free Our Roads’’ initiative adding that the event was also to handover the 38km dual carriageway section of the road to Dangote Group of Companies.
He said Dangote, Julius Berger and BUA would complete the road project which he said started with a mere rehabilitation under the past administration for N155 billion and later the scope was expanded to N655 billion.
He said Berger would be completing their section of the road which is 82 kilometres for about 320 billion Naira, adding that the Dangote’s section, which is about 38 kilometres, would cost 126 billion Naira, while the BUA section which 8.66 kilometres times two would cost 41.9 billion Naira.
“However, the Dangote’s section is going to increase in terms of scope and we are reviewing the rate I agree with them because of the cost of things.
“We have agreed in the Ministry of Works that we are going to review it to the price that is reasonable so that they will do the job.
“When we came onboard in September last year Julius Berger made request for a reviewed price of N1.5 trillion and that’s where the quarrel started.
“However, we have been able to agree, and then we got an independent consultant, who reviewed the project between Berger and the Ministry of Works and that was about nine months back,” he said.
Umahi said that the project cost was reviewed to about N888 billion with a difference of 640 billion from what Berger needed for the dualisation of the three lanes road.
“It is not offering the price that is the issue, but we have to come to a compromise between the contractors and the ministry of works bearing in mind the economic situation.
“When we have reasonable price, the work will be done and then more scope would be covered but if I have unreasonable price, then it becomes a problem which we will not achieve much,’’he said.
Umahi called on the companies handling the three sections of the project to show absolute devotion to the completion of the project.
