The Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway’s Section One rehabilitation contractor, Julius Berger, has been ordered to leave the project site by the Federal Ministry of Works.
FG Directs Julius Berger To Abandon The Abuja-Kano Road project.
This came after the business was given a final notice of termination on Monday, which was 14 days in length and ruled out the possibility of any more talks.According to the ministry, the dismissal was due to non-adherence to the terms, scope, and cost review, work stoppage, and failure to remobilise to the site as instructed.It pointed out that there had been no notable advancement in the months-long negotiations.
This information was revealed in a statement released Monday in Abuja by Mohammed Ahmed, the Director of Press and Public Relations, who emphasised that the decision was made at a ministry management meeting held at its headquarters.Recall that the company and the works ministry had been in continuous communication for the past 13 months in an attempt to come to a mutually agreeable position on the aforementioned alignment, but to no avail.The most recent event comes after the minister threatened to cancel the contract that was given to the business in 2018, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Abuja-Kaduna section has made 27% progress in six years, whereas the Kaduna-Zaria section is finished and the Zaria-Kano section is nearly finished.During an event held the week before, Umahi charged that Julius Berger was using the highway for political purposes in order to damage the reputation of the current administration.
Despite these attempts, the parties were unable to come to an agreement, and the construction company did not show up for the Monday meeting.The Federal Ministry of Works has given Messrs. Julius Berger Plc a 14-day Notice of Termination for the Rehabilitation of Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna), today, November 4, 2024, in part because of their failure to comply with the reviewed cost, scope, and terms, halt work, and refuse to remobilise to the site as instructed.
“Nigerians may want to be aware that the company was awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway on December 20, 2017, and that former Minister of Power, Works, and Housing Babatunde Fashola officially signed off on the project on June 18, 2018, at an initial cost of N155.75 billion. Partially finished and turned over at the end of the previous President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration were Sections II (Kaduna–Zaria) and III (Zaria–Kano).“Since then, there have been various additions and modifications, and at last, the current Minister of Works ordered that Section I of the contract be redesigned and resized. One phase of the alignment was redesigned to be on continuously reinforced concrete pavement, while the other phase was left on asphaltic pavement.
Messrs. Dangote Industries (Nig.) Ltd. received approval for Section I, Phase 1 for a 38-kilometer stretch on the concrete pavement, while the substantive contractor retained ownership of the remaining 127 kilometres. Phase 1 had a 14-month completion period and was flagged off on October 17, 2024.
Mohammed went on to say that although the Federal Executive Council had approved a request to rescope the project, the contractor had not agreed on the terms of the contract.He continued by saying, “The ministry re-scoped the project and received the approval of the Federal Executive Council due to the contract’s stalemate and, most importantly, President Bola Tinubu’s desire, as embodied in the Renewed Hope Agenda infrastructure initiative, to see to the completion of this commendable project, also to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians plying the road.”
“On September 23, 2024, FEC awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway in FCT, Kaduna and Kano States, Contract No.6350, Section I (Abuja-Kaduna) to Messrs. Julius Berger Plc, reducing the original amount of N797.26 billion to N740.79 billion. The award was communicated to the company on October 3, 2024.”According to the most recent information, David Umahi, the Works Minister, has cancelled 11 contracts in 16 months.
