FG Compensates Berger over N64b Cancelled Project
By Chinedu Eze

27 May 2011
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Aviation Minister, Mrs Fidelia Njeze


The Federal Government has concluded plans to compensate Julius Berger, a construction firm, with the sum of N270, 070, 803 for the cancellation of the N64 billion Abuja airport second runway project awarded to it.

Inside sources said that it was part of the contract terms that if the project was cancelled or taken away from the company, the said amount would be paid to it for what the company invested in the project before the contract was awarded to it.

It could be recalled that the controversial project was finally cancelled by the Federal Government after the National Assembly discredited the project as being too highly inflated.

Although the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) stoutly defended the project sum, the lawmakers insisted that the cost of the project was outrageous.

A source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told THISDAY that the compensation fees is justified because the company had spent money in carrying out studies on the project, including soil texture, location and other technical details, in addition to the design and architectural designs of the project.

“It was in the agreement that in case the company was denied the project, it must be compensated with that amount. That is the way it is done all over; it is not peculiar to us because the organisation had already spent huge amounts of money on it before it was cancelled”, the source said.

BPE had said that the runway was to cost about N64 billion because it was not an ordinary runway that was planned to be built at the Abuja airport, claiming that it was a kind of runway that could be compared to the best in the world.

But the National Assembly severely criticized the project and said that it would not approve it.

In a meeting between the Senate Committee on Aviation and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the then Chairman of the Committee, Senator Anyim Ude, after listening to explanation from FAAN, justifying the project, asked, ““You mean that it’s costing Nigeria over N63 billion to do a runway, not a new airport? You can come to us with the details later, but we want you to justify why Nigeria should spend about N64 billion, not for a brand new airport; against the background report that it cost 6.99 billion in Djibouti , even Gombe here, N7.5 billion, India, Helsinki 2.14 billion… Tell us why Nigeria should spend this much on the project.”

A source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told THISDAY that the compensation fees is justified because the company had spent money in carrying out studies on the project, including soil texture, location and other technical details, in addition to the design and architectural designs of the project, plus the bribe they paid too

Who do these legislators think they're fooling?

Our foolishness gets me mad at times. 

Arghhhhhhhhh!!!

That was the same we wasted money during the construction of the Niger Bridge @ Onitsha years ago. We wasted value that could have built 3 more Niger bridges on delays, cancellations and legal folly.

Sorry you mean Legislooters? a beg alooter continua, welcome Fresh AIR

Hmmmmm. I guess the "legislooters" gat no "ghana must go" 4rm the firm. . And dont be surprise to hear the dishonourable members singing a new song by next week afta JB must ve done what is "necessary". Blimey