Minister Inspects 2nd Niger Bridge, Expresses Satisfaction At Work Pace

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
on Wednesday inspected the Second Niger Bridge in continuation
of his ongoing tour of federal government projects across the
country, and expressed satisfaction at the pace of work on the
bridge.

“I am very excited because the thing about this project is
that because of the alignment, people travelling on the old
bridge will say nothing is going on because they cannot see
it, but you have come here and you can see the amount of work
that is going on, so I’m very very excited,” the Minister told
the journalists who accompanied him on the tour.

Alhaji Mohammed, who inspected construction work at the Asaba
and Onitsha ends of the bridge, said when completed, the
bridge will ease traffic congestion on the road as well as
change the socio-economic landscape of the South-east and
South-South geo-political zones in particular.

He commended the enthusiasm with which the contractor, Julius
Berger, is handling the project and gave the assurance that
henceforth, funding will no longer be a challenge for the
construction of such projects.

“I think one thing that this government has assured is that
funding won’t be a problem because we have many sources of
funding and I think the latest is the Presidential
Infrastructural Development Fund, which is actually aimed
at ensuring that no project like this suffers for lack
of funding,” the Minister said.

He said having achieved tremendous success with the
sub-structural work, the project will now witness rapid
progress.

While briefing journalists on the level of work on the bridge,
the Federal Controller of Works for Anambra State, Mr.
Innocent Alumona, said so far phases 1, 2 and 3, which have to
do with the foundation, have been completed, and that the
contractor is currently on phase 4,
which will end in July this year.

“A lot of people are saying no work is going on on the Second
Niger Bridge because they have not been opportune to visit the
site. The Federal Government actually is not sleeping. A lot
of money has been spent in the process of realizing the Second
Niger Bridge, and as we go further, we will show you a lot
that has been done to prove to some of us – who are still
doubting that nothing is happening at the Second Niger Bridge
– that a lot is ongoing,” he said.

Mr. Alumona said some 310 of the 615 piles designed for the
bridge have been sunk, while massive sand-filling of the
approach road has been carried out to the height of five
metres.

At least 400 Nigerians are currently employed by the
contractor handling the project, which is expected to be
completed within the next two years.

Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Enugu
28 June 2018

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
on Wednesday inspected the Second Niger Bridge in continuation
of his ongoing tour of federal government projects across the
country, and expressed satisfaction at the pace of work on the
bridge.

“I am very excited because the thing about this project is
that because of the alignment, people travelling on the old
bridge will say nothing is going on because they cannot see
it, but you have come here and you can see the amount of work
that is going on, so I’m very very excited,” the Minister told
the journalists who accompanied him on the tour.

Alhaji Mohammed, who inspected construction work at the Asaba
and Onitsha ends of the bridge, said when completed, the
bridge will ease traffic congestion on the road as well as
change the socio-economic landscape of the South-east and
South-South geo-political zones in particular.

He commended the enthusiasm with which the contractor, Julius
Berger, is handling the project and gave the assurance that
henceforth, funding will no longer be a challenge for the
construction of such projects.

“I think one thing that this government has assured is that
funding won’t be a problem because we have many sources of
funding and I think the latest is the Presidential
Infrastructural Development Fund, which is actually aimed
at ensuring that no project like this suffers for lack
of funding,” the Minister said.

He said having achieved tremendous success with the
sub-structural work, the project will now witness rapid
progress.

While briefing journalists on the level of work on the bridge,
the Federal Controller of Works for Anambra State, Mr.
Innocent Alumona, said so far phases 1, 2 and 3, which have to
do with the foundation, have been completed, and that the
contractor is currently on phase 4,
which will end in July this year.

“A lot of people are saying no work is going on on the Second
Niger Bridge because they have not been opportune to visit the
site. The Federal Government actually is not sleeping. A lot
of money has been spent in the process of realizing the Second
Niger Bridge, and as we go further, we will show you a lot
that has been done to prove to some of us – who are still
doubting that nothing is happening at the Second Niger Bridge
– that a lot is ongoing,” he said.

Mr. Alumona said some 310 of the 615 piles designed for the
bridge have been sunk, while massive sand-filling of the
approach road has been carried out to the height of five
metres.

At least 400 Nigerians are currently employed by the
contractor handling the project, which is expected to be
completed within the next two years.

Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Enugu
28 June 2018