The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has assured Nigerians that the rebuilding of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway will be finished by the first quarter of 2024.
Mahmuda Mamman, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, had given the assurance during the road and other ongoing federal road project inspections in Kaduna State.
Mamman had during the inspection, toured 375.9 km of the dual carriageway way –which began from the Abuja end through Kaduna to Zaria and further extended to Kano– in the North-West zone.
Meanwhile the Permanent Secretary had ascribed the delayed completion of the road project –an undertaking that had been awarded since 2017– to the insecurity in the north, and monetary challenges, all of which are being sorted out to ensure that the contractor delivers the project next year.
Mamman had revealed that the purpose of the inspection was to assess the progress made so far by the project contractor, Messrs Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
Other challenges attributed for the delay by Mamman and the project manager include: the problem of capital, insecurity, and bad weather conditions.
Since a timeline has been given, one can hope that the contractor and Permanent Secretary speeds things up and finish the project as expected. For a project that began in 2017, the pace has been disappointingly poor.
