Rivers state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has lauded leading engineering construction company Julius Berger Plc as a very understanding company committed to the development of infrastructure in the state and the country.
Governor Fubara stated this during the historic commissioning of the Emohua-Kalabari road constructed by the company over the weekend.
The governor said the project was awarded on February 18, 2023 by the immediate past administration at the cost of N21.2 billion but only paid N6 billion.
He explained stated that his administration paid the remaining N15.2 billion and completed 70 percent of the job to confidently claim it as part of his projects delivered for the good of the people in Kalabari land.
“Let me thank the four local government areas, which cooperated to make this project a success: Emohua, Asari-Toru, Degema and Akuku-Toru. And let me also thank the traditional leadership of the Kalabari Kingdom. Please just be peaceful, everything that we desire, by the special grace of God, will definitely come our way,” he said.
Permanent Secretary state Ministry of Works, Atemea Briggs in his remark, said the Emohua-Kalabari road is 15.24 kilometres in length, and was awarded at the cost of N21.26 billion by the previous administration, which paid only 28 percent of that sum.
Briggs said other features of the road serving as major access into Kalabari land include its width as 5.3 meters, with asphalt thickness of 100 millimeters – made up of 60 millimeters concrete asphaltic binder course and 40 millimeters asphaltic wearing course, with a median divide of 600 millimeters and installed street light, now completed and fully paid.
In her welcome address, the vice chairman of Asari-Toru local government area, Mrs Tekena Daphne Wokoma, recalled that the road, which was properly constructed with bridges first in the 1990s, eventually collapsed few years after.
Earlier, the Deputy Regional Manager of Julius Berger, Mr. Rimon Marisho, acknowledged that the Emohua-Abalama-Tema junction road project was awarded to the company in February, 2023 with a completion period of 18 months.
He said, “because of our company’s commitment to meeting contractual obligations, we ensured delivery of the project in good quality and ahead of schedule.
“Julius Berger is proud to have contributed significantly to the development of infrastructure in this region, and we are grateful to Governor Fubara for the opportunity, including the trust reposed in them to be part of his success story.”
