Many road projects including the Abuja-Lokoja highway would be completed and inaugurated in 2014, the Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, on Wednesday said in Abuja.
The minister, who made this known while fielding question from journalists at a Forum, noted that although budgetary provision could not cover all the road projects, the ministry would attend to critical projects.
“Well it is true that the budget of the ministry of works just like any other ministry dropped as a result of the challenges the government has faced in its revenue generation but suffice it to say that this year, we have been able to judiciously use what we have received from the Ministry of Finance in driving our road development programme across the country.
“I want to assure that the Abuja-Lokoja road will be commissioned this year. The second is the Benin-Ore dual carriage way; that particular section of the way certainly will be completed and commissioned this year leaving us with the outstanding section from Ajebandele to Sagamu which we have introduced into the budget for 2014.
“Hopefully when the budget is approved we shall be awarding the asphalt overlay of that section.
“Once that is done, we would not have a completely brand new expressway from Benin to Shagamu covering a distance of over 270 kilometres”, he said.
The minister also debunked claims that all federal roads in the South-East were in deplorable condition, citing the Enugu-Abakaliki road and the Afikpo-Abakaliki road as clear examples of good roads in the region.
Onolememen, however, acknowledged that there were challenges in the South-East roads necessitated by poor budgetary provisions, adding that the ministry would not relent in rehabilitation, reconstruction and in some cases expansion of roads which he described as critical.
