Why we gave Calabar-Itu Road contract to four firms – NDDC

THE Niger Delta Development Commission has said that it decided to award the contract for the rehabilitation of the Calabar-Itu road to four contractors as a result of the poor state of the road.

The Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the state of the road was causing economic hardship to the people.

She explained that the award of the contract to four contractors would increase the pace of work and encourage the completion of the road without delay.Speaking in a telephone interview with Southern City News, Semenitari explained that the commission intervened by getting contractors with the capacity to the site, adding that work had since begun on the Calabar-Itu road.

The acting NDDC managing director explained that the contractors had been given the mandate to complete the palliate job by next week.

“The Cross Rivers State office of the NDDC had sent a memo, asking that we intervene and carry out an urgent repair on the Calabar-Itu Road. We had to write the Federal Road Maintenance Agency to give us the go-ahead.

“FERMA gave us the go-ahead because they said they could not afford to handle the repair of the road. I directed NDDC engineers to come up with palliative measures.

“Before we began work on the road last week, commercial motorcycles were used to cross some portions of the road that were not motorable,” she said.

According to her, while section one of the road, which covers Ikot-Ekpene to Itu Bridge, is being handled by Atafranc Nigeria Limited, section two; Itu Bridge to Okuruikand Junction is being rehabilitated by Darycet International Nigeria Limited.

Semenitari also stated that Base Engineer Limited was handling the section three of the road from Okuruikang Junction to Odukpani Junction while Zenith Construction Limited was working on section four, which covered Odukpani Junction to Tinapa Junction.“The contractors we are using have capacity and by the time they complete the work, motorists and other road users will enjoy relief,” the NDDC boss added.

Source:punch