Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has said the federal government would no longer pay contractors 30 percent mobilisation fee for newly procured contracts unless they move to site and spend the minimum 30 days.
The minister stated this during an inspection of Section 1 of rehabilitation of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road earlier terminated from Julius Berger and awarded to Infiouest Nigeria Limited.
He said, “I’m satisfied with the speed of work, I’m satisfied with the progress and Infouest has not been paid a kobo but this is the new policy of the ministry of works, the moment you sign your agreement you have to mobilise and be on site for a minimum of 30 days doing permanent work before you get a mobilisation, now that he has fulfilled that requirement we will now apply for his 30 percent mobilisation, we’ll do that but I want to thank him for the confidence he has worked beyond 30 days, that is a relationship.”
He expressed satisfaction with the quality and speed of work by the new contractor. saying, “ I say, look, it’s not compulsory that we pay mobilisation. So if you have capacity at the time of bidding, you have to express your financial capacity.”
He said the federal government would pay the contractor N75 billion out of the N252 billion project cost.
He added that the project is to last for 14 months from the date the contract was signed.
On the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, he said 30 kilometers of Section 1 would be completed by May while the remaining 17.4 kilometers was delayed due to settlements.
The minister added that Julius Berger was still being engaged by the federal government to handle the Bodo-Bonny Road, Carter and Idodo bridges.
He said the commissioning of the Lekki Deep Sea project would reduce pressure on the Lagos-Sagamu road.
The managing director and chief executive officer of Infiouest, Mr Joseph Aboujaounde, promised to ensure prompt completion of the work.
He also pledged to deliver quality road for Nigerians.
“I knew the challenge but I accepted it, we shared work for the past three months and the result is what you can see. My promise is I’ll definitely give the best work, the best quality and respect the time factor of this project,” he added.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
