REYNOLDS Construction Company (RCC) has indicated that the delay over the 15km East-West road section, from Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction, Rivers State was as a result of the ongoing importation of necessary machinery. But Minister of Works, David Umahi, during an inspection tour of road projects currently ongoing in the South-South was quoted as saying in a statement on the ministry’s website that “we are very sad with the manners and behaviour of the contractor.
The federal government paid RCC over N40 billion for this project. Not even a kilometre has been completed out of 15kms.” Additionally, Umahi stressed that no requests for price variation by the contractor would be entertained, saying “the project does not warrant any price adjustments.” The Minister then issued a seven-day ultimatum to RCC, warning that failure to remobilize to site would result in the termination of their contract.
He expressed concern over the hardships faced by road users, emphasizing the Federal Government’s commitment to securing interim funds for road maintenance until the company resumes work at the site. A source said that in recent times, several road construction projects undertaken by the Federal Government across the country have been abandoned by the contractors responsible for them.
The primary reason cited for these abandonments are the contractors’ requests for price variations, with many arguing that the agreed sums are insufficient to complete the projects due to factors, such as inflation and the cost of importing machinery The source gave the Bodo-Bonny road project, Lokoja-Benin and Obajana Junction-Benin road projects in Kogi and Edo States as examples.
In response, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, issued ultimatum notices to affected contractors, demanding that they return to the construction sites or sign revised contracts. Despite impending sanction, the government was seen as making compromises to ensure the projects’ continuation. For instance, the Federal Government recently approved an additional N280 billion for Julius Berger Nigeria Plc to complete the Bodo-Bonny road project, despite initially deciding against any variation request.
