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| Lagos-Ibadan Expressway |
The scheduled completion time of the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway may be affected following the decision of the
contractors to slow down work due to the non-payment of over N3bn owed
them by The Infrastructure Bank for work done and duly certified.
Road users have in the past two weeks
observed the slow pace of work by the contractors, Julius Berger Nigeria
Plc, which is working on the Lagos/Sagamu interchange end of the road,
and Reynolds Construction Company, which is handling the Sagamu
interchange to Ibadan end of the road.
The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos,
Mr. Godwin Eke, told one of our correspondents that the contractors had
said they would go back to work after the debt had been offset.
According
to him, officials of the Federal Ministry of Works have met with the
management of the bank, which has promised to pay before the end of the
month.
“The Infrastructure Bank owes the
contractors some money under the new arrangement; about N3bn. As soon as
they pay them, the work will continue. Work has not been abandoned;
rather, it is slowed down,” he said.
Eke added that the contractors had said
that they were also not certain about the direction the new government
would take as regards the project.
“The ministry does not have any problem;
it is the contractors that are not certain about the direction of the
new government. But the new government is not going to affect the work
hopefully, because government is a continuum,” he added.
He said that contractors usually prepare and submit interim statements every month and get paid.
Eke added that payment had not been made
for the last set of statements submitted by the contractors, leaving
unpaid certificates of over N3bn for both Julius Berger and RCC. He also
said that through the financing arrangement for the project, the
financial burden had been passed to The Infrastructure Bank.
However, the Managing Director, TIB, Mr.
Adekunle Oyinloye, said it was not correct to state that the bank owed
the contractors as it was the finance arranger to the Federal Ministry
of Works on the project, with the mandate to raise about N167bn needed
to implement the project in line with the construction contract executed
between the ministry and the contractors.
“Hence, the finance arranger cannot owe
the contractors as the TIB is rendering a service on behalf of the FMW
and is not directly obligated to pay the contractors from the funds
raised,” he explained.
In line with the TIB’s mandate, Oyinloye
said the contractors were paid N25bn in advance in 2014 and an
additional N25bn in 2015 for work certified and as payment on account
for work done but yet to be certified by the supervising engineers,
bringing the total paid so far to the contactors to about N50bn.
He added, “In line with the project
dynamics, payments are not made until outstanding works are certified by
the supervising engineers. This is consistent with the terms of the
construction contracts and global best practices for executing
large-scale engineering projects.
“With respect to the scaling down of work
on the road, it is important to note that the rainy season has just
fully commenced and it may be counterproductive to do some work while
the rains are on. Furthermore, and in line with the project transaction
dynamics, the detailed engineering designs for the road is being redone
with a view to providing enhancements and other road improvement
programmes to turn the expressway into a world-class carriageway with
essential services for health and safety considerations, services and
rest areas, lay-byes, trailer parks, and other economic development
facilities in line with best practices.
“This design improvement is being
undertaken right now and should be completed sooner. However, this will
not stop the work being done on the road.
According to the controller, the rainy season has also contributed to the slow pace of work on the road.
Eke said, “No meaningful work can be done
when it is raining; if you do it, it will be washed away. When you are
doing a road and it is raining, you slow down, especially when you have
excavated, you cover the excavated part and wait for a clement weather
before you continue.
“If you don’t, the water will penetrate
deep and destroy what you have done. That is a major reason for the slow
pace of work and not just the non-payment of the outstanding sum,” he
said.
The reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway was awarded in 2013 at a total cost of N160.7bn, with three
lanes on either side up to the Sagamu interchange from Lagos, and two
lanes up to Ibadan as well as flyovers and inter-change.
The immediate past Minister of Works, Mr.
Mike Onolememen, had said that the project would last for 48 months and
would be delivered in August 2017.
According to Eke, the work is currently
at 25 per cent completion stage and may be completed before the
scheduled delivery date if there is adequate funding.
The Chief Engineer, RCC, Mr. Nader Yusuf,
confirmed to one of our correspondents on the telephone that the
company was not working at optimal capacity on the road because it was
being owed though he refused to disclose the amount outstanding to the
firm.
“We are working, but they are owing us.
We are not working with all our ability because of the money they are
owing us,” he said.
Yusuf also gave an indication that the
scheduled completion time might be affected if the contractors were
starved of funds, adding, “If they pay us well, we can finish our work
in 18 to 20 months.”
When contacted, the Media Officer of Julius Berger said he had no information to give on the project.
Source: Punchng
