THE Federal Government has said that it would take over any section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway not completed by contractors before April as it pushes to finalise the long-delayed project.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The meeting was presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Senator Umahi said the government was determined to commission the project and would not allow further delays.
He said: “We are poised to take over some parts of the route if they are not completed by April because we need to commission that project.”
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The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project, valued at N213 billion, was divided into two phases.
Julius Berger has completed the first phase, while RCC is still working on the second.
Umahi revealed that N30 billion is needed to complete the remaining sections, including an 8.55km stretch of the Lagos-bound carriageway.
According to him: “The contract value of what is left is about N4 billion and then the Lagos-bound is about 8.55km and this is what we re-scoped.
“That amount is N22 billion, so you technically have about N30 billion, even though the total value of the project is N213 billion.
“But don’t forget that what is needed to complete that route is N30 billion and that’s Arab Contractors.”
Meanwhile, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of reviewing, re-scoping, and prioritising ongoing infrastructure projects, FEC approved 14 major road contracts worth N242.148 billion across different states.
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