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The Federal Government has set June 2026 (13 months) completion date for the reconstruction and expansion of the Maraba-Keffi road project awarded to MS. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Nigeria Limited at the cost of N73.9 billion.
Speaking on Saturday, while inspecting the ongoing expansion of the Abuja-Keffi expressway, Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, said the completion of the road would in no small measure reduce the transportation problems on the corridor.
Goronyo commended President Bola Tinubu for making the project a reality, saying government had opened a corridor for movement of goods and services, adding that this had translated to reduction in travel time and other economic benefits and that appreciable progress had been made.
He said the ministry was waiting for a certificate from the contractor so that more funds would be released for the project, and that the ministry would work out modalities to expand the lanes on the road for the benefit of Nigerians.
He said: “This road is very critical because it is crisscrossing a lot of states. We have completed the road from Keffi to Makurdi and the one from Mararaba up to Keffi is now ongoing.
”Makurdi to Enugu is ongoing and achievable progress has been gotten from the contractor. What we are expecting is that by June next year, the entire stretch of this road from Abuja up to Port Harcourt will be completed.
“This contract was awarded in June 2023 with a completion period of 30 months. Work started here in December last year and now you can see that they have gotten up to 42 per cent completion.”
Also speaking, CHEC Commercial Manager, Mr Ronald Liao, said the road would achieve 56 per cent benchmark by month end, explaining that the company was unable to reach the benchmark on time due to the heavy traffic on the corridor.
“The traffic flow from Masaka to Mararaba daily is very heavy. So, we have no other choice but to work at night. That is a big task and a challenge to our work progress.
“However, with the help of the ministry and with the help of the controller and also the help of the FRSC, we will complete the work within the right time,” he said.
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