RSG Spends N279.5bn On Road Projects

The Rivers State Government, has spent more than N279,531,843,007.50 on the 230 road projects scattered across the state since the inception of the Amaechi led administration.

The State Commissioner for Works, Chief Victor Giadom made the disclosure during the five-day retreat tagged, “Strategy Retreat”, organised by the state Government for top government officials at Nonwa-Tai in Tai Local Government Area.

Chief Giadom however said the projects would require an additional N116,659,071,718.08 to be completed, disclosing that only 59 roads had already been delivered.

In the words of Chief Giadom, “one great challenge facing the Ministry, in pursuant to its mandate is lack of requisite funds to pay contractors to ensure that they abide by our completion time-lines”.

Considering the time-lines set by the administration and the setting in of the dry season, the Commissioner appealed to the government to disburse about N18.9billion to enable the Ministry pay contractors to complete the pending projects.

Already, he disclosed that the Ministry had evolved a project delivery strategy in tandem with the vision of the administration not to leave any abandoned project at its exit in 2015.

According to him, by March next year, the Ministry was targeting to deliver about 122 projects while the spill-overs were to be completed by February 2013. Hence, by 2015, Chief Giadom opined that the burden of project delivery would be reduced to the barest minimum.

“While the remaining project will be completed on or before the end of the tenure in 2015, however, this projection is subject to the tempo of funding between now and February 2015”, he added.

While harping on the need to pursue the time-lines vigorously, Chief Giadom appealed to the state government to release the sum of N18,919,999,30.70 to pay contractors to complete ongoing road projects before the next rainy season set in.

He assured that the Ministry under his leadership would continue to be frugal and transparent in its spending to ensure that the vision of government was achieved in transforming the state.