FEC approves N56bn for completion of Abaji-Koton Karfe road

The federal executive council (FEC) says it has approved N56.17 billion for the completion of the Abaji to Koton Karfe road on the Abuja-Lokoja highway.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, said this at the end of the FEC meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari at the statehouse on Wednesday.

Fashola said his ministry had approval for the termination and re-award of the 49 kilometres section of Abaji to Koton Karfe road to Messers Galt for N56.175 billion. 

He said the council also approved the revision of the contract of the Afo-Apoto-Oyo boundary road in Kwara by N251,530,000, which revised the contract sum from N3,060,000,000 to N3,311,000,000. 

According to him, the revision will enable the contractor to make provision for drainages, replace unsuitable material as well as accommodate some price variation.

Fashola appealed to commuters experiencing traffic gridlock on the Abuja-Keffi expressway to bear with the federal government, noting that the ongoing expansion would ease movement.

He added that over 20,000 vehicles ply the road daily, making it impossible to shut down for swift implementation.

“On Abuja-Keffi road, the reason we’re there in the very first place to build the route is that it has become insufficient to manage the large traffic of commuters. And we understand the inconvenience that commuters feel trying to use that road,” Fashola said.

“We appeal to them to bear with us. It’s a challenge for us, I think, almost about 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles, if not more, use that corridor now almost daily. 

“We wish we shut it down so that we can have uninterrupted construction but unfortunately, that’s not possible. So, why do we manage traffic, people have to drive through a construction site we’re building. 

“So, please bear with us. We’ll do the best we can to minimize the inconvenience. When the road is finished, be sure that the current inconvenience would have been well worth the wait and the experience.”