Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
The Federal Government has officially taken delivery of the newly constructed second Niger Bridge.
The Contractor, Julius Berger, handed over the project to Minister of Works, David Umahi on Sunday.
Speaking during the handover, Managing Director of the Company, Lars Richter thanked the Federal Government for finding his company worthy to carry out the project.
“We are very pleased to handover this project today to the client which is the Federal Government,” he said.
Reacting, Minister fo Works, David Umahi, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari for providing the needed support that led to the completion of the project.
He promised that the All Progressives Congress-led administration of Mr Tinubu will deliver more projects for the region.
The Minister also commended the company, Julius Berger, for delivering the project.
He, however, noted that some ancillary works, which include completion of the interchange on the Asaba end need to be completed.
“This will ensure that road users do not have to go through Asaba town where they will encounter traffic before accessing the bridge.”
He also noted that the Federal Government plans to concession the interchange works to investors who will recover their money from the toll plazas on the road.
He also noted that Julius Berger and the Ministry reached an agreement on the power supply issue on the road and bridge.
“We agreed that they will deploy solar system to tackle the power issue so that there will be constant light and this will improve security on the road,” he said.
Director of Bridges South-East of the Ministry, Obioha Bede, urged the people of the region to make judicious use of the bridge.
He also urged them to protect the facilities from being vandalised.
The Minister also inspected other ongoing projects in the region which include the Enugu-Port Hacourt highway, the Enugu-Onitsha Highway and the collapsed New Artisan bridge Enugu.
