Babatunji Wusu –
After contractor Julius Berger finished the second Niger bridge, it was officially turned over to the Federal Government.
This is seven months after the previous administration’s inauguration.
Following a tour of the work by Julius Berger Managing Director Lars Richter, Minister of Works David Umahi expressed pleasure with the progress.
Umahi commended the current government as well as the last one for their work in seeing the project through to completion.
Umahi praised the excellent quality of the building, calling the finished bridge “impeccable, very beautiful, and well completed.”
In addition, he spoke of intentions to remedy the bridge’s lighting problem and provide permanent lighting, especially at night.
“We have decided to implement a solar solution in the upcoming weeks so that we don’t have to run diesel every night,” Umahi stated.
“The roads will be finished once we have finished the two interchanges; one will lead us away from Asaba town to stop traffic, and the other will be built by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Ltd. to direct you to Obosi without going via Onitsha town.
“We will purchase more so that we can establish service stations, filling stations, restaurants, supermarkets, and other facilities as we see in the Western world. President Ahmed Tinubu is really devoted to the idea.
“We are committed to achieving that; the necessity of completing the interchanges will be excellent in order to have a lovely, well-maintained road in the future.”
In order to provide even more security for the bridge, the minister provided Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and a small number of security guards, ensuring that help would be available in five minutes.
Lars Richter, the managing director of Julius Berger, has previously stated that the project was started by the previous administration and that this was a technical handover.
Richter reported that Julius Berger produced the best-quality job, and the work was finished on schedule.
During his speech, Bede Obioha, the Director of Bridges Design and Construction, South, Federal Ministry of Works, encouraged the locals around the second Niger bridge to assist in securing the facilities that have already been built as well as those that have not.
Bede urged residents and drivers to follow traffic laws and complimented his ministry’s employees and contractors on a job well done.
