The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, says the Federal Government will save over N640 billion using concrete to construct the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road.
Umahi stated this when he appeared before the Ad-hoc Committee to Monitor the Construction of the road.
The Minister explained that the decision to switch from using asphalt to concrete was to guarantee quality and save cost for the government.
“By my engagement of my approach, I saved the nation N640 billion from Julius Berger. If we had accepted to do the job for N1.5 trillion, then they would have it. Now we are not, we are saving the country over N640 billion. And we are improving on the architecture of the road” he stressed.
The Minister who said the ministry is committed to delivering President Tinubu’s promises on infrastructural development explained that the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road was terminated due to unethical practises and failure to abide by the terms of the project by Julius Berger.
He said there was no going back on the decision to terminate contract as the difference between the Ministry and Berger appeared irreconcilable.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the house Committee, Aminu Jaji, directed that all relevant documents related to the project be submitted so they can be better guided in addressing the issue.
Jaji also observed that there appeared to be discrepancies in the figures for the project presented by the Ministry and the contractor.
Speaking during the interactive meeting with the Committee, the management team of the company led by Mr Benjamin Bott pointed out that they were being owed by the Federal Government.
