27 September 2008
The Federal Government said yesterday in Abuja that the third main land bridge, Lagos, partially closed for repairs on Aug. 2, would be re-opened tomorrow. Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, Minister of Transportation said this while briefing newsmen.
She said N762 million was the actual contract sum for the repairs, adding that it was paid in stages, and what is remaining will be paid in due course. "The Federal Government is now able to re-open the third mainland bridge to traffic slightly ahead of schedule by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 28," she said.
The Minister said the bridge was partially closed down for critical repair of four of its major expansion joints. "They had been in need of repair for quite a while and the bridge was in danger in terms of integrity of its structures," she said.
The Minister said Borini Prono Construction Company was chosen to handle the repairs because it was part of the consortium that built the bridge.
Madueke said the bridge would be re-visited within the next one year for some extended work to be carried out. "Within the next one year, we will return to the bridge to do some extended work, particularly on the scarification, asphalt over-lay and repair of the railings and lighting.
"We will give sufficient notice before we start so as to handle it efficiently," Madueke said. "The Ministry has put-out advertisements for Expression of Interest, for pre-qualification of investors in the build, operate and transfer business model for the rehabilitation of a number of our major trunk roads. These include the Lagos-Badagry-Seme road, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road and the Benin-Ore-Sagamu road.
Also speaking, Prof Bamidele Badejo, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation said "when we heard of the rehabilitation, our conviction was that Lagos would be choked-up. "We are grateful to the Minister of Transportation because in spite of our opposing the partial closure, she dialogued with us and remained enthusiastic," he said. (NAN)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
