Second Niger Bridge 50% completed, compensation rises to N5bn – Fashola

Babatunde Fashola, the minister of power, works and housing, on Saturday, May 20, announced that work is underway at the second Niger Bridge as compensation from Anambra and Delta has risen to N5 billion. The minister further said that all payment for the completion of Zik’s Mausoleum has been made to the contractor, Bouygues Construction to complete the job by September 2018.

Presidency Fashola made this promised this during his recent visit at Onitsha, Anambra’s commercial hub to inspect the progress of work on the second Niger Bridge, Zik’s mausoleum and other key projects in the southeast.

Fashola said: “By assessment, the piling work is about 50 percent done at the 2nd Niger Bridge, at the time I resumed work at the Ministry. “Only the bridge was designed and work had stopped here but because of the commitment of the president and the government, work has resumed here and for the foreseeable future. I don’t see any reason why work will stop here again because the funding is now being provided.”

Concerning the mausoleum, Fashola remarked that they have no reason not to complete the project by September 2018, as has promised.

He stated: “The contractor is back to work late I admit but I have told him that if he fails to deliver by the end of October, he will leave the site, we will take it over by ourselves and finish it.”

“There are compensation issues, we have received compensation claims of about N3.44 billion. That is a lot of money to pay for land, we have paid N1.8 billion. Our strategy is to pay in sections where the contractor wants to work because we keep receiving more claims and we want to be sure that we are paying the claims to the right people.” He explained.

“We do not pay in advance, we will pay when the contractor wants to start work so that people will not collect money on the land and come back to say the land didn’t belong to those paid.”

“We have received an additional claim of N1.5 billion and almost everybody now seems to just be filling claims, these are some of the impediments that I see on the bridge.”

Meanwhile, it was reported that the federal controller of works in Anambra state, Innocent Alumonah, had stated that the Second Niger Bridge linking Asaba and Onitsha which is currently being constructed, is already at 44.6% completion.

Speaking on Monday, April 9, Alumonah disclosed that the company handling the project, Julius Berger, had accomplished about 85 piles of 914 millimeters in diameter in different axis.

Credit: Naij.com