The Federal Government has emphasized that the N280 billion Bodo-Bonny road project, led by construction firm Julius Berger, must be completed by September 2025.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, made this statement following a two-day inspection of various ongoing federal road projects in Rivers and Abia states.
Umahi stated that while the Federal Government plans to begin commissioning a series of road projects across the country from February to May 2025, the Bodo-Bonny road will be a special gift to President Bola Tinubu on October 1st.
In addition to the Bodo-Bonny road, Umahi inspected other projects such as the reconstruction of the Eleme section of the East-West Road by RCC, the Ahoada section leading to Bayelsa State by Setraco, and the Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu highway by CCECC.
Umahi revealed that within the first two weeks of January, he intends to visit all six geopolitical zones to assess the progress of various road projects ahead of the commissioning events in February.
He expressed satisfaction with the quality of work on the Bodo-Bonny road, but voiced concerns over the delays and urged Julius Berger to accelerate the pace of construction to meet the September deadline, with no extension beyond October 1st.
Regarding the project’s timeline, he said, “This work will not go beyond September. The idea of slope stabilization beyond September is not acceptable to us. This job has been badly delayed, and we are aware that going back and forth with Julius Berger on this project lasted for one year.”
Umahi continued, “Even there was a breach of the contract whereby Berger had to demobilize without notice to the client. And I want to commend Mr. President very highly for his commitment to the people of Niger Delta and, of course, indeed, to every section of this country.”
Umahi noted that the project’s budget had been reviewed twice. Initially, the cost was N53 billion, but after further negotiations, it was increased to N199 billion.
However, the new government under Umahi’s leadership pushed for an additional N80 billion, raising the contract sum to N280 billion.
“So the total contract sum now is N280 million, but with a caveat that this project is non-varying and it must be completed in September 2025,” he explained.
Despite Julius Berger having received over 85% of the initial N199 billion, Umahi highlighted that the progress made was not in proportion to the funds expended.
He added, “So the ball is in their court. They have been given what they needed graciously by Mr. President, and so there is nothing to complain about again. The work quality is good, but we’ve agreed on milestones for completion. I have issued my directives, and we will monitor the progress based on our meetings.”
Umahi made it clear that there would be public accountability for any delays.
“This year, we’re going to be apportioning blame publicly for any delay, whether it is contractor, the funding agent, the ministry staff, or the Minister of Works,” he said. “President Bola Tinubu has provided all that is needed for us to advance the infrastructural development of this country in most of the projects.”
He went on to reaffirm the September deadline, calling the completion of the Bodo-Bonny road a gift for President Tinubu.
“We need to commission this project latest on October 1st. That will be a gift to Mr. President. There will be lighting and CCTV cameras, and people will be able to travel at night,” Umahi added.
On the Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu road, Umahi praised the quality of work by both Arab Contractors and CCECC but urged the companies to step up the pace of construction.
He outlined a target for state Controllers of Works to present four projects each for commissioning from February to May 2025, with some projects set for completion as early as April.
During the briefing, Julius Berger official Tim Nippert provided an update on the Bodo-Bonny project.
He explained that the total alignment spans almost 38 kilometers, with over 25 kilometers dedicated to sand cement stabilization, asphalt, and base course works.
Additionally, Nippert reported that five kilometers of rigid pavement were under construction in Bonny town, with approximately three kilometers of bridges already completed.
Nippert also shared that the company expects to complete the majority of the project by the third quarter of this year, with some slope protection works potentially continuing into the final stages of the project.
