Committee Spends N21bn On East-West Road

Subsidy Reinvestment
and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), says it has so far intervened to the tune
ofN21 billion in the East-West Road projects.

Mazi
Sam Ohuabunwa, a member of the SURE-P committee, announced this on Monday in
Oron during an inspection tour of section 4 of the East West Road.

Our
correspondent reports that the team, led by Ohuabunwa, drove on the 50 km
stretch of the road from Oron in Akwa Thorn to Ogoni in Rivers.

Ohuabunwa
later told newsmen that the programme’s intervention had remarkably fast
tracked the pace of work on the contract, awarded in 2006.

He
said the intervention was funded from the Federal Government’s share of 41 per
cent proceeds from the partial removal of petroleum subsidy in January.

He
explained that SURE-P guaranteed contractors of prompt payment for work done
and therefore an incentive for speedy delivery of projects.

“Our
intervention approach is to assure contractors of availability of funds to pay
for completed jobs and once the certificate of job completion is generated and
verified, we pay the contractors promptly.

“We
were here in August and we are here to access the extent of work done since our
last visit.

From
what we have seen, we shall settle the last bill that the contractors
provided,” he said.

Prof.
Kunle Wahab also said that the team was pleased with the progress of work in
section 4 of the project.

He
said the road was already providing relief to motorists, adding that a section
of the road would be inaugurated in January 2013.

Another
member of the committee, Alli Bukar, said the intervention had addressed the
funding constraints which delayed the project beyond its completion date of
April 2010.

Reacting
to the perceived delays in the project, Mr Ghanem Rasbieh, the Site Agent of
Gitto Nig Ltd, the contractor handling the section of the road, said extended
rainy season in the region was an obstacle.

He
explained that the dry season lasted only three months within the region.

Rasbieh
gave the assurance that the project, which had attained 52 per cent proress,
would be completed within one year.

The contract for the proejct was awarded on September 28,
2006 for N26 billion and reviewed to N37.53 billion.