By Joseph Kingston
Calabar
Coordinator of Cross River Rural Access and Mobility Project (CR-RAMP), Engr Charles Okongoh, has said that it is the plan of the government of Cross River state to boost its economy with the construction of 474 kilometer rural roads.
Speaking in Calabar during a chat with Blueprint newspaper, Okongoh sai already the presence of the roads have started impacted on the activities of the over 1.6 farmers dwelling in those communities.
He said the road network, initiated by Governor Liyel Imoke’s administration, has helped farmers to transport their produce to markets on time thereby bringing a sharp reduction in the size of post-harvest losses from 30% in 2010 to less than 5%.
Okongoh said farmers were no longer giving their farm produce at give -away prices, and that the average travelling time to major markets and urban centres by bus has also reduced from two hours in 2010 to less than 15 minutes today because of new good roads.
The coordinator disclosed further that N20, 325, 026, 766.44 was the total contract sum for the roads, but that African Development Bank assisted with N7, 016,199,239.77 while the state government coughed out N13, 308,827.526.66.
In order to ensure the maintenance of the roads, he said, local government council staff; local small and medium scale contractors and benefitting communities are trained in intensive road maintenance techniques, adding “U-bars are install across these roads to prevent entry of heavy axial vehicles.”
On challenges facing the project, Okongoh enumerated such challenges to include unprecedented heavy rainfall, inflation and rise in cost of construction materials due to removal of fuel subsidy, site problems like topography as well as communal crisis.
