- Minister Umahi reveals Abuja-Kaduna highway 20% complete, urges Julius Berger to finish by 2024; emphasizes quality and timely completion
- Minister addresses road project progress, praises Julius Berger, discusses phase two, cites security challenges affecting construction timeline
Engineer David Nweze Umahi, Minister of Works and Housing, stated that the Abuja-Kaduna highway is only 20% complete.
He urged the construction company to complete the project by 2024.
According to him, the Kaduna-Zaria section is finished, and the Kaduna-Kano section is 70% complete.
The minister emphasized his commitment to presidential directives for timely completion during a visit to the Kaduna State Government House with other officials as part of his inspection tour of federal roads under construction.
He praised Julius Berger’s work and announced discussions with them about the completion of phase two.
He emphasized the significance of a high-quality project that is completed on time.
Umahi said;
We are discussing with Julius Berger on phase two of the project which from Kaduna to Zaria is said to be 100 per cent done. We will see that when we come back to this region to inspect the rest of the project. Section three is set to be completed up to 70 per cent.
And section one which is Abuja to Kaduna unfortunately is 20 per cent completion. We are talking to them to still maintain the same quality but see if we can still deploy up to 60 per cent of the road length for concrete. We are discussing this with them. We are very confident of the quality of the concrete of Julius Berger.
What I want them to know is that there are other construction giants that can also deliver quality work. So we don’t want to go beyond 2024 with this project, not 2025. That is not what the president has directed.
The minister confirmed that funding for the project is not the cause of the road’s delay, but that insecurity also played a role.
Senator Uba Sani, who was represented by his deputy, Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, commended the minister’s efforts and requested that other road projects, such as the Western Bypass and Nnamdi Azikwe Road, be completed on time.