Agency Report
Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said on Sunday that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is working “very, very hard” to ensure the completion of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway by the end of the year.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the Aba end of the project, Umahi said construction had reached advanced stages, with over 85% completion recorded on the Aba–Umuahia section and about 60% on the Aba–Port Harcourt stretch.
“The public should know that the President is working very, very hard to complete this road,” Umahi said. “I can say both jobs — for the Aba to Port Harcourt, about 60 per cent of the job has been done, but for Aba to Umuahia section, we’ve done over 85 per cent. I am very, very happy with the quality of work by the Arab Contractors — they are one of our best.”
Umahi said the Ministry of Works had directed the contractors to maintain the completed Aba–Umuahia section, while also ordering the Federal Controller of Works in Abia State to visit all federal project sites in the state at least once a week.
“You should be able to visit all the projects in Abia once in a week, so that if there are impending dangers, you let us know,” he said, adding that regular inspection would help detect potential faults early and prevent road failures.
The minister said several roads across the country had become national priorities due to their poor state when Tinubu assumed office. He reiterated the government’s commitment to providing durable infrastructure and confirmed that the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway is expected to be completed in December.
Umahi said the Federal Government had adopted the use of concrete pavements for major highways to ensure longevity. “Anyone the president has fixed will stay there for the next 50 to 100 years,” he said.
Dismissing concerns about rain delays, the minister said experienced contractors were able to continue work during the rainy season using engineering techniques such as “tankering.”
“There is a system whereby you can do earthwork during the rain, a combination of all sorts of methods, including tankering,” he explained. “Tankering is a method whereby you dig a kind of sump so that all the water will drain and be pumped out by osmosis.”
Umahi warned that substandard work would not be tolerated. “I was on one of the roads today and I wasn’t happy — I ordered the expatriates to be sacked from the site. This is engineering, not a colour matter. If the project is not doing well, we have the responsibility to take action,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction with the completed sections, he described them as “very beautiful” with “no failure” recorded so far. Umahi also disclosed plans by the Federal Government to introduce tolling on completed roads under public-private partnerships to fund maintenance.
According to him, new concrete roads would require “almost 0.001 per cent maintenance for the next 50 years.”
The Project Manager of Arab Contractors, Sherif Fadel, acknowledged that heavy rainfall had slowed progress but said payments from the government had improved recently.
An Aba resident, Chukwuebuka Nwankwo, commended the quality of work but urged contractors to hasten completion. Another resident, Oluchi Ukachi, said the project would boost economic activity and ease transport difficulties once completed.
