From ISAAC ANUMIHE and AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja

The nerve-wracking traffic, which keeps motorists stranded for several hours on the River Niger Bridge at Onitsha, Anambra State, may soon be a thing of the past, as work will soon begin on the second bridge across the Niger River. Speaking to Daily Sun yesterday, the Public Relations Manager of Julius Berger Plc, which got the concession from the Federal Government to construct the bridge, Mr Clement Iloba, said the ground breaking ceremony will be performed next month. Iloba said that the timeline for the completion of the project was four years and that every arrangement has been made to meet the date. He, however, did not disclose the exact date when the groundbreaking event would take place nor the cost of the entire project.

Last week, at the 43rd Julius Berger Annual General Meeting (AGM), its Managing Director, Mr Wolfgang Goetsch, disclosed that the Federal Government had given Julius Berger a letter of intent, which would enable it to do preliminary work such as, soil testing and engineering design. He explained that the bridge would be built under the private public partnership arrangement. “A consortium that included a South Africa firm participated in the bidding for the project. In January 2013, our group became the preferred bidder. We are excited because it will be the first of its kind in Nigeria,” he noted. Investigation by Daily Sun revealed that Julius Berger brought to the agreement table, the sum of N100billion, while the Federal Government is paying 30 percent equity. The 30 percent equity by government, according to our investigation, will be generated through the SURE-P programme. Giving insight into the project, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Works on Media, Mr Tony Ikpasaja, said the total length of the bridge including the accompanying road construction work is 12.4 kilometres.

Said Ikpasaja: “The entire bridge and approach road is 12.4km. The bridge itself is 1.8km, while the approach road is 10.6km.” He said: “The approach road begins from Asaba before the airport, and veers to the right to hit the bridge, while from the bridge, the road takes you into Onitsha-Owerri road and also, to Onitsha-Enugu road.” Meanwhile, the ground-breaking of the rehabilitation contract of the Lagos-Shagamu Road has been slated for July 5, 2013. According to Iloba, Julius Berger will handle the Lagos-Shagamu end of the 125 kilometre-road, while Road Construction Company (RCC) will rehabilitate the Shagamu-Ibadan section of the road. The Lagos-Shagamu end which is about N67 kilometres was contracted to Julius Berger for N17 billion whereas the Shagamu-Ibadan stretch is about 58 kilometres though the contract cost was not disclosed. The scope of work would include provision of three additional lanes in either direction between Lagos and Shagamu interchange, making it five lanes; provision of associated facilities for security and welfare of the user as well as ensuring a free flow of traffic. However, Julius Berger had earlier handled section one of the road from the old toll gate in Lagos to Shagamu in Ogun State while RCC rehabilited the section from Shagamu to Ibadan as part of palliative measure by the Federal Ministry of Works.

The contract was awarded to Messrs Bi-Cortney on a build, operate and transfer arrangement for 25 years but the contract was revoked last year because Bi-Cortney did not keep its own part of the bargain. Federal Government under President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua on May 26, 2009 awarded the contract to Messrs Bi-Cortney which was revoked by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Other projects completed by the giant construction firm include, Escravos Gas to Liquid facility, Delta; Admiralty Alexander Link Bridge, Lagos; Atlas Cove Jetty Rehabilitation, Lagos; Abak-Ikot Ekpene Road, Akwa-Ibom; Discharge Drain Abak, Akwa Ibom. Other ongoing projects are River Terminal Airstrip, Bonny Island; Central Bank of Nigeria Office, Lagos; Rose of Sharon Building, Lagos; Railway Completion Ajaokuta to Warri and Rehabilitation and Expansion of Airport Expressway, Abuja.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/julius-berger-commits-n100bn-to-2nd-niger-bridge/