Frederick Weiser, the Project Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, on Tuesday said the second Niger Bridge would be completed on February 28, 2022.
Weiser made the disclosure when Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State inspected the ongoing work at the project site in Ogbaru, near Onitsha.
He said contract for the construction of the bridge was awarded over the years, but was abandoned due to poor funding and failure to mobilize the contractor to site.
According to him, the bridge is 1.6km long with 3.3km adjoining route from Delta State and another 7km at the Anambra State end.
Weiser, who disclosed that the project was awarded at a cost of N206 billion, said the Federal Government had so far released about 15 per cent of the contract amount.
Weiser explained that the firm was currently constructing beams and doing piling work on the bridge.
“The biggest challenge we had before now was the rising water level of River Niger, which has now receded,” he told Obiano.
In his remarks, Obiano, who commended the Federal Government for releasing huge sums for the project, expressed optimism that it would be completed as scheduled.
The governor described the bridge as “very important to the South East and the nation” and commended the contracting firm for its zeal to complete the job.
Earlier, Obiano paid similar visit to the completed Zik’s Mausoleum in Onitsha, where he commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the project.
The governor, who expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done, said the project was a plus to President Buhari’s administration.
He said: “The project has been abandoned for the past 23 years.
“It is an important project to the people of the South East, Nigeria and the African Continent.”
The governor said he would intimate the President on his inspections and urge him to inaugurate the Mausoleum.
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