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Why completion of Port Harcourt-Enugu highway is delayed, by Fashola

By Chuks Collins, Awka
24 March 2020   |   4:04 am
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has attributed the delay in the completion of the Aba-Port Harcourt-Enugu highway to environmental factor and others.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has attributed the delay in the completion of the Aba-Port Harcourt-Enugu highway to environmental factor and others.

Fashola stated this yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital during an inspection of the Port Harcourt-Enugu section of the road.

He said: “If we do not have water, we cannot be a port city,” adding: “Essentially, we are building on water. It is a very challenging environment for infrastructure.”

Similarly, the minister appealed to the host communities to be patient with the Federal Government, as it was committed to providing a bigger, better, wider and safer road for them.

“As can be seen, our plan is to deliver eight lanes from what was four lanes since we intend to make our experience better this rainy season than last year,” he noted.

Explaining further, Fashola pointed out that though the work would not be completed this year, he was, however, quick to add that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration intends to work on the four lanes and split them into two apiece to facilitate traffic flow.

According to him, it would serve as a form of relief to commuters and other road users as nine kilometres of the road from Eleme junction are in between Port Harcourt metropolis.

On the construction works, he said: “ A lot of sand filling is going on. The road is dug well over two metres and we have to replace bad soil with good ones, and this accounts for a lot of dredging work.

“The road is passing through an already built area. Some buildings had to go as well as relocation of power lines. These are the challenges and the reasons this road is taking time to be built.”

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