At a time when the traffic situation at several bad portions of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway seems to have worsened due to the advent of the rains, a time when the condition of the road continues to deteriorate and gridlocks have become a constant feature on both sides of the highway, the Federal Government has shortlisted seven construction companies for the reconstruction/rehabilitation of the road.
The names of the shortlisted firms, according a source at the Federal Ministry Works, have been sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement for ratification and the issuance of a certificate of no objection which is might to clear at least one of the companies for the project.
He is quoted as saying that “Once the BPP has issued the certificate of no objection, the ministry will present the name(s) of the contractors to the Federal Executive Council for final approval,” the source said.
Although the cost of the reconstruction could not be ascertained at press time, it was learnt that the Federal Government would fully fund the project.
The Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, had last year announced the termination of the concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Highway Services for the reconstruction of the 125-kilometre road, accusing the firm of serially breaching the terms of the contract signed by it and the Federal Government on May 26, 2009 under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC Nigeria Limited were immediately hired to take over the job. The former was given the Lagos-Sagamu Interchange end, while the latter got the section between the interchange and Ibadan.
However, their remedial work was only to prepare the road for the high volume of traffic during the 2012 Christmas and the New Year festivities.
But the ministry said it had to return to the drawing board to prepare a fresh design for the road and get contractors to bid in line with due process guidelines.
The minister had said on a television programme monitored in Lagos last week that the new design would incorporate a fly-over at the Redeemed Camp area to reduce traffic jam.
He said, “We plan to construct a flyover around the area where we have a number of churches, which usually lead to bottleneck, particularly around the Redeemed Church.
“We have now introduced a flyover around there to separate the traffic to the church and the thorough traffic that is traversing from Lagos to other states. That is going to solve the problem around the Redemption Camp permanently.”
Under the Design, Build, Operate and Transfer agreement with Bi-Courtney was expected to refurbish the road with N89.53bn and collect tolls on it for 25 years in order to recoup its investment.
Resident and business owners in Lagos have not stopped expressing disapproval over the nature and pace of the project. Most resident say the government is not serious about the implementation, they believe that must of what is heard are just political statements. Other residence have asked why the road needs to be tolled as similar projects nationwide have never been tolled, huge road construction projects have been awarded to contractors for road construction in the northern states with tax payers money without squeezing road users.
How long it would take for the Lagos commuters to feel a sense of relief is not yet known as no definite date has been given and sooner than later the regular high density traffic associated with the “EMBER” months would soon become a regular feature.
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