FG Tasks Julius Berger Plc On Completion Of Rehabilitation Work On 82 Km Section Of Abuja- Kaduna- Zaria- Kano Road
Senator David Umahi, Minister of Works, calls on Julius Berger Plc to demonstrate corporate patriotism by accepting the N740.8 billion approved by the Federal Government for the completion of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road rehabilitation project.
... As works minister asks new MD of company to brace up for realistic contract pricing in line with national economic recovery plans
Minister of Works and immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, Senator David Umahi, has once again, urged the Julius Berger Plc, to show corporate patriotism by accepting the N740, 797, 204, 713.25' approved by the Federal Government for
the completion of the rehabilitation of the 82 km section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road, contract No.6350.
Umahi spoke when the new Managing Director of Julius Berger Plc, Dr. Pier Lubasch, paid him a courtesy visit, accompanied by the outgoing Managing Director of the company, Dr. Lars Richter in his office on Tuesday.
The minister lamented that the delay in mobilizing to the site despite the approved funds by the Federal Executive Council was causing untold hardship to road users ading that the Federal Government was at the receiving end of the situation.
His words, “So if Berger is not doing it, then let's have other people to do the job and within the time that we can control the price.
"We've had more than 20 letters from Berger on this. It is a ping pong game from Julius Berger. The prices rose from ₦710 billion to ₦740 billion because of these delays. And if we continue the delays, it is the problem of the Ministry of Works.”
Umahi further expressed dismay that Julius Berger Plc, which has had years of patronage by Federal Government and sub-national governments, was not realistic in its contract pricing, especially at this time of the country's economic challenges and implored the contractor to either reject or accept the reviewed contract price within seven days, to ensure the completion of the rehabilitation project.
According to Umahi, Julius Berger must avoid holding the Federal Government to ransom over the section II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road or face contract determination by the government.
This was even as he noted the desire or determination of the government to jettison unrealistic pricing and augmentation by contractors.
“This offer is not subject to any condition. It's not subject to any condition that is being dished out here. It's taken as given after more than 14 months. I'm sorry, I have to sound this way because there must be an end to negotiation. If anybody says there shouldn't be an end to negotiation, then that person is not a business person. If you have negotiated for 14 months without any result, you should terminate the negotiation,” he added
Welcoming the new Managing Director earlier, the minister had reiterated the need for construction companies working with the Federal Ministry of Works to prepare to make sacrifices in terms of value for money and realistic contract pricing, so as to encourage the much needed road infrastructure revolution for the nation’s economic transformation.
"Already a number of Berger projects have been terminated because the site has been abandoned. And we needed to do something about it because Nigerians are suffering. Nigerians are crying, and they are insulting the President. We can not allow that to be happening,” Unahi further added.
Meanwhile, the new Managing Director,
Mr Lubasch, has promised to revert as soon as possible on the issues sought to be addressed and hoped that consensus would be reached for the project to take off without further delay.
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