Minister for Works and Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola has hinted that for the Lagos/Sango Ota road to be ready its will need the sum of N56 billion for its completion.
The minister during an inspection of the ongoing construction of Toll Plaza at Lotto, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway said the Lagos-Ota road, inherited from the previous administration, was first awarded in 2000 with the contract sum of N6 billion and that now government needed the sum of N56bn for its completion.
He said though work started and was completed on the Lagos end of the road, the bridge head at Ota had been in deplorable condition for sometimes now, pledging that FERMA has been saddle with the responsibility of fixing the fail portions of the road.
On the Ota- Idi-Iroko road, the Minister said measurements, designs and office work were going on just as the State government was committed to clearing the road for construction of gutters to commence.
While sympathising with those who ply the road, Fashola said government needed the support of lawmakers in making funds available for infrastructural development in the country.
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, in his remark revealed that palliative works would soon commence on the bad portions of the Lagos-Ota and Ota-Idi-Iroko roads, and to be concluded by December.
Abiodun stated that the palliatives which would be done by December, was to reduce the hardship being experienced by commuters along the roads.
He, however, revealed that the failed portions, which would be reconstructed by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) would cost N13.4bn and would be part of the N56bn revived contract sum.
“In the meantime, the Minister has graciously instructed that FERMA fixed those places and immediately begin to carry out palliative works on that road.
“We have given the commitment that we will relocate traders; we will control and manage traffic, whatever that it is we need to do, we will ensure that we begin to bring succour and needed relief to our people.
“The state of that road today is pitiable. I went on that road myself and I felt bad for our citizens, however like the Minister has explained, we have decided to find a fasttrack solution and I must thank the Minister. He has graciously decided to extract those failed portion, those very terrible portions, not just at the old Toll Gate but about two kilometres of all the failed portions along the length of that road up to Abeokuta.
“They’ve identified those portions, they are costing them right now, they are extracting them from the main contract, they have costed them to be about N13.4 billion. He is going to find money using SUKUK bond to pay the contractors so they can focus on those places, not just rehabilitating them, but actually reconstructing them so that when the rest of the road construction commences, they will just commence and compliment those ones, so that is what is being planned,” he said.
