PH Ring Road: Symbol Of Fubara’s Commitment To New Rivers Vision

For the socio-economic development of any nation, road infrastructure is considered very important as it provides access to markets, jobs, and resources. It is regarded as a critical asset for economies and governments all over the globe because it plays very crucial role in providing mobility for the efficient movement of people and goods, as well as provide accessibility to a wide variety of commercial and social activities. In fact, good road network is an undeniable instrument for connecting people, communities and cities!
Government’s investment in road infrastructure is a big factor in people’s quality of life. It is the backbone and chief driver of socio-economic development, which every country strives to achieve. Roads and bridges, in particular, change the landscapes; increase connectivity, bring societies closer to the outside world, and attract investments from far and wide.
Armed by the saying that ‘good roads make crucial contribution to economic development and growth’, on Monday, July17, 2023, the Rivers State Government took a very bold and courageous initiative by flagging off the construction of the Port Harcourt Ring Road project, estimated to cost the government about N195billion. Already, the governor had paid 75percent of the total sum, which is N150billion to Julius Berger.
The Port Harcourt Ring Road project, which is a 50.15km-long dual carriage road with varied widths of between 7.6m and 29.2m where there are service lanes, has been awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. It will span six local government areas (Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme, and Okrika. The ring road will have six flyovers and one river crossing bridge. It is billed to be completed within 36 months.
Conceived by former Governor, Dr. Peter Odili;constructed by the government of SirSiminalayiFubara; and flagged off by the immediate past governor, Chief NyesomWike, this project, when completed, will connect the people of the state not just by road but by love and unity of purpose despite the inherent individual differences occasioned by the diverse ethnic groupings.
The Port Harcourt Ring Road will serve as a bold effort taken in connecting Rivers people together and fostering greater unity among them. This project, which is expected to connect several rural communities, will expand the landscape and further unify the people of the state.
The construction of the project will be of immense significance to domestic, social and economic development of the state. Upon completion, the project will offer significant socio-economic benefits for the contiguous local government areas, and indeed, the entire state by easing traffic flow, improving road safety, and creating greater opportunities for residents of the state. This project will expectedly open up Eleme, Okrika, Etche and Ikwerre LGAs to further development.
Whilst this signature project has received wide commendations from both local and foreign observers, it has also not escaped the watchful eyes of critics who have insinuated that the cost of the project is rather outrageous and shouldn’t be undertaken at this time when there is widespread hardship and hunger in the land.
Some have also opined that the government should have committed part of the over N150billion already advanced to the construction company handling the project, Julius Berger, for youth empowerment and other quick fix solutions.
However, the governor has assured that his government will attend to every area of need in Rivers State. Fubara emphasised that his government will soon roll out programmes that will empower youths and women in the state while also giving priority attention to other critical sectors like education, health, job creation and employment generation, among others.
He further explained that the decision to advance over 75percent of the project sum to Julius Berger was to avoid the issue of variation that comes with project of this magnitude.
Whether anybody likes it or not, the import of the project is underscored by the governor’s remarks during the flag-off ceremony. Fubara said that beyond traffic decongestion and accessibility, the Port Harcourt Ring Road seeks to further unite the people of Rivers State, adding that his administration was beginning of a journey some people thought cannot even be contemplated, given the realities on ground.
The governor dispelled insinuations in some quarters that the project was still at the drawing board, adding that the contract for the ring road has already been signed. According to him, “Today, we are here to put mortar to brick to that contract signing. Some of you had doubts when we signed the contract whether we will start it. But we did not just sign it, we have paid for it, and we are here to commence the job. The importance of this road is not just about connecting Eleme to Etche, it is not just about connecting Etche to Ikwerre; the project is about connecting our people. It is about uniting Rivers people. The New Rivers Vision is about bringing Rivers people together. It is about making all the ethnic groups in the state to unite for a common goal. Beyond our individual differences and diversity, I want us to look at this project as something that connects us together”.
Fubara said that the project is going to decongest Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor because it will be a trigger for other cities to develop in the state. He said, “This project will bring about the development of new cities in Rivers State because there will be accessibility to other towns around Port Harcourt. More investors will come too.
“Let me assure the good people of Rivers State that it is not only the roads that we will attend to, we will invest in health and educational sectors. We will also look at youth empowerment because it is very important,” he said. For critics, what other assurances do they want from the governor that he is not making wrong decisions? This project is only one among the many that the administration has lined up in all sectors, including human capacity development, and welfare of the people.”
Fubara, however, warned trouble makers around the designated local government areas of the project – Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme and Okrika – to stay away, assuring that the government would pay timely and appropriate compensation to those affected by the project. He warned that government would not condone any act of sabotage or lawlessness by anyone or group along the project’s right of way.
Whilst it is a fact that government does not have unlimited resources, and also cannot do everything at once, the decision of the current government of Rivers State to undertake this project is not just bold and audacious, but one that aptly attest to the determined drive of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to bring visible and undeniable development to the good people of Rivers State.
One interesting thing any doubting indigene can take away from this project is the satisfying detailed clarification on the description of the scope and specifications of the ring road by the state Commissioner for Works, Dr. Dax Alabo George-Kelly. The commissioner’s detailed explanation surely will silence any unbiased critic of the project because of the complex attributes and features the ring road offer the people of the state.
George-Kelly said, “I commend His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for this legacy project that cuts across several communities in six local government areas, critical government infrastructure and corporate industries that play major role in boosting the economy of the state are targeted in this project. Its social-economic benefits cannot be overemphasised”.
He maintained that the project has six sections that will run concurrently, with acompletion time of three years. George-Kelly added that the Port Harcourt Ring Road will have six flyovers, one river-crossing bridge, and 19 rotary intersections and roundabouts.
“The road is a total of 50.15km dual carriageway, meaning that, if it was a single carriageway, we would be talking about 100kilometres. The project is going to have six flyovers and one river-crossing bridge. The flyovers will be having a total length of 4.8kilometres. The river-crossing bridge will be 350 metres long. The project is sub-divided into two loops; we have the southern loop and the northern loop.
“The starting point of the project will be the southern loop, which is the UTC Junction, Port Harcourt. We will go into what looks like a valley there towards Kidney Island and take a curve to get to Rumuji Street. We go left to Uruala Street, then, we move on to Iloabuchi Street, meaning that all of these roads will be dual carriageway.
“At the end of Iloabuchi Street, we will go left towards Eagle Island. Behind the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, we are going to put a bridge to cross the river there to Mgbodohia, then, we go straight to Aker Road; from there, we go right to hit the Olumeni-Epirikom Road by Egbelu.
“On that road where you have St. John’s Church, we are going to have a flyover there. And then, we go left towards Ogbogoro; then, we move on to Ogbogoro-Ozuoba Road. At the Ozuoba Junction on NTA-Choba Road, we are going to put another flyover there. That would be slightly snake in nature because it is going to move all the way into Rumuosi. We will move from Rumuosi to East-West Road; then, we put another flyover across East-West Road to Rumuekini. That is the end of the southern loop.
“The northern loop begins from Rumuekini to Aluu. From there, we will hit right to get to the Airport Road. We then go right and get to Elikporkpordu until we get to Elikporkpordu by Ikwerre Road. We will put another flyover there to get to Rukporkwu.
“We move into the Rukporkwu-Eneka Road, which will now be dualised to get to Eneka Roundabout.We will put another flyover there. Then, we will hit the Eneka-Igbo-Etche Road; then, enter into Igbo-Etche community proper. Then, we go straight through the vegetation and hit Aba Road by Iriebe, where we used to have toll gate. At that point, we will have a roundabout and a flyover.
“From Iriebe, we will move in through the vegetation to get to Agbonchia in Eleme LGA. Then, we will go right to get to Alesa-Refinery Road. There, we will have our final flyover and roundabout on the East-West Road to connect Okrika”.
While flagging off the project, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, who was the special guest of honour, stated that his administration approved the construction of the Port Harcourt Ring Road, and commended Governor Fubara for starting the project on a solid and positive note.
“Before I left office, the last state executive council meeting that we held which the governor and his deputy attended, we approved that the Port Harcourt Ring Road should be constructed by the next administration.
“We attended meetings in Germany with the commissioner for works, negotiating with Julius Berger. We thank God Almighty that this project is starting today. Fubara has shown that he has the will and capacity to carry out project of this magnitude,” he said.
Wike subtly brought another dimension to the project when mocked Niger Delta Developmenbt Commission (NDDC), saying it would have been nice if the commission played along with the government by taking a section of the project. He said the ring road project ought to be driven by the NDDC, but regretted that unfortunately, the commission was “a Niger Delta cash cow”. He challenged the NDDC, saying if it was sincere; it should take the ring road from the Borokiri axis to Okrika and terminate at Alesa, Eleme.
Barely a week after the remark, NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, responded positively to Wike’s push, saying that the former governor’s comments would only spur the management to do the right thing for the people of the state and the region. He specifically said that the commission has concluded discussions with the contractors handling the Borokiri-Okrika link road, which had been abandoned for years, and that work was resuming this week on the 3.65km road, with three bridges, costing an initial N16.5billion.
With the Borokiri-Okrika link road taken over by NDDC, the Port Harcourt Ring Road would now properly connect the people of the six local government areas directly affected, as well as others who use those LGAs to access their communities in Ogoni, Andoni, Opobo-Nkoro, and even across Rivers borders to Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. No doubt, the ring road is the single largest infrastructure project by any state government in the country as at today, exactly 57 days after assuming office as governor. The short and long-term impacts of this project cannot be quantified. Only posterity will judge those who feel it is a waste of tax-payers’ resources, because it is indeed, not a waste after all. It is a wise investment in boosting the state’s infrastructure base to make it even more competitive in the comity of states in Nigeria, and mega cities in the world.

By: Ibisaki Willie-Wills