The Minister of Works, Engineer Dave Umahi, has said the decision to switch from the use of asphalt for the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road to the use of concrete will save the Federal Government over N640 billion.
Engineer Umahi disclosed this when he appeared before the Ad-hoc Committee set up to monitor the construction of the multi-billion naira contract, chaired by Hon. Aminu Jaji.
The contract for the construction of the highway awarded to Julius Berger was recently terminated by the federal government, accusing the contractor of unethical practices and failure to comply with the terms of the project.
The Federal Government had issued a termination letter to Julius Berger Plc over the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project valued at N740 billion following a dispute over the costs and execution of the project.
The termination letter, signed by Director Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Works, CO Assam, said the decision was in accordance with Clause 63 Standard Condition of Contract (Road Works), Volume 1, 1999 Edition, with effect from the date of service. of the letter.
The letter addressed to Julius Berger’s CEO and dated Nov. 21 said the contract was canceled due to the contractor’s alleged uncooperative behavior and repeated delays.
The Minister, who explained that the contract had been re-awarded for a concrete road, expressed dissatisfaction that the project, which lasted about seven years, was unfinished and of poor quality.
He said his estimate was that the decision would save the federal government more than N640 billion out of the N1.5 trillion demanded by Julius Berger due to the variance.
He also said that the road would be of better quality and would be done in record time.
He said: “Through my approach, I saved the nation N640 billion from Julius Berger. If we had agreed to do the job for N1.5 billion, then they would have done it.
“Now we are not; We are saving the country over N640 billion. And we are improving the architecture of the road.”
He said the federal government has the power to terminate the contract, since the problem with Julius Berger is not just a money problem.
He said the Ministry properly contacted the contractor on how to resolve the matter, but to no avail.
“Berger’s problem is not just a cost problem. We said in our conditions of acceptance that this project must be completed in 14 months.
“This project does not vary unless the dollar exceeds 2,000 naira to the dollar. “They rejected all those conditions and set traps for us,” the Minister told the legislators.
The commission asked him if it wouldn’t be more expensive to re-award the contract when Berger had already done some work and if it wouldn’t be more cost-effective to hire the same contractor for the concrete road project as well.
Umahi said there was no going back on the decision as the difference between the Ministry and Berger seemed irreconcilable.
While noting that it would be unethical to simply hand over the contract to Berger because the contract must be open for everyone to bid, the Minister maintained that Julius Berger could still bid on the project if he wanted to.
“We completed the work within our rights as an executive. They were treated fairly. It is my right to determine the choice of pavement. When you compare the cost, we are in a safe haven. Leave the concrete, it’s my baby. It is cheaper to use concrete and we are carrying out additional solar lighting and CCTV work.
“We were negotiating with Berger for 14 months. It is my right to terminate the job and we follow due process. I’m glad the road from Berger was closed.
“We had cases of kidnapping on the road due to the state of the road. We begged them to fix the potholes but they refused. Some sections of the road were in poor condition but they refused to do it,” he said.
In his statements, the Hon. Jaji directed the Minister to submit all relevant documents related to the project, including the contract agreement, certificate fees, evidence of payments made so far, among others, so that the Committee is better guided in addressing the issue. .
In his speech, the President of the Federal Commission of the House of Representatives, His Excellency. Idris Wase said: “If a certificate was obtained, what was the value and percentage of work covered? If you want a review, at what time do you want the review or at what time was the review done? “This is all information we need.”
The President also noted that there appeared to be discrepancies in the project figures presented by the Ministry and the contractor.
He said the Committee was not out to catch anyone but to ensure that the right thing was done in the interest of the country.
He said his mandate was to put pressure on the Ministry to ensure the job is done.
Meanwhile, in a previous meeting with the Committee, Julius Berger attributed the slow pace of road work to poor policies and policy changes.
During the interactive meeting with the committee, the company’s management team, led by Mr. Benjamin Bott, said the federal government owed them money.
He said that at one point the work was stopped because the government proposed the option of using concrete instead of asphalt for construction.
Bott also recalled that at one point, the issue of insecurity kept workers away for 11 months due to a bomb explosion in Kaduna, during which the company’s workers were attacked.
To this end, the Committee also ordered the company to provide all documentation related to the contract from its award to date.