FG pledges better funding of road projects nationwide – Minister

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said the Federal Government would henceforth ensure better funding of the various ongoing road projects across the country.

Fashola stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at a meeting he held with contractors handling various Federal Government’s projects in the country.

Fashola told the contractors that funds would be made available in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that contractors were paid quarterly.

He, however, urged the contractors to ensure that roads across the country were made passable ahead of the yuletide season by ensuring that failed sections of their various projects were rehabilitated.

Fashola said the meeting was called for the contractors to inform the public what they should expect from the companies in the last months of the year when traffic is going to be heavy.

The minister called on the contractors to ensure that they regularly informed members of the public of challenges contractors faced during raining seasons in the construction sector.

“Let the Nigerian people know what is happening on our roads when they are not maintained during the raining season, also this happens in other part of the world.

“Even with the best of maintenance, some rains are heavy and sometimes causes flooding, you will lose some of the infrastructure like it happened in some parts of America,” he said.

In their various contributions at the meeting, the contractors called for better funding regime to address the current deplorable state of roads across the country.

They blamed the deplorable state of roads on rains and poor funding.

In his contribution, Mr Wolfgang Goetsch, the Managing Director of Julius Berger PLC, blamed the slow pace of project execution by his company across the country on inadequate funding.

He said construction business was capital intensive that requires proper funding for future planning and management of both human and capital resources.

Goetsch pledged the readiness of Julius Berger to expedite actions when funds were released as scheduled for the execution of its projects ahead of the yuletide season.

Mr Nabeel Esawi, the Chief Engineer, Renold Construction Company (RCC), blamed the slow pace of project execution on the heavy rains, particularly in the southern part of the country.

He said tremendous progress would be made during the dry season, adding that RCC had commenced the rehabilitation of failed sections of roads being handled by the company .