The construction of Oweto Bridge across River Benue in Nasarawa and Benue States is 60% completed. Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, who disclosed this in Loko, Nasarawa State when the National Good Governance Tour Team inspected the project, said, the bridge would be ready in October 2015, three months ahead of the scheduled completion date.
The contract for the construction of the 2.1 kilometer Oweto Bridge was awarded Reynolds Construction Company on 30th November, 2011 to link Benue and Nasarawa States across River Benue, thereby reducing the travelling time from the North Central to the South-East by three hours.
The Works Minister said, the Oweto Bridge and the Second Niger Bridge were two gigantic bridges embarked upon by the Federal Government since the construction of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos twenty-five years ago.
“This project will ensure that people who live in the North Central Zone, particularly in Abuja, will now be able to get to the South-East removing about two or three hours from their time. In other words, it’s going to improve the travelling time between the northern part of the country and the southern part of the country through this alignment. It will also reduce the level of traffic we are witnessing currently at the Lokoja Bridge”, he said.
Mr. Onolememen said, the over 30 Billion Naira project was one of the dividends of the partial withdrawal of fuel subsidy as the project was being funded by the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
The Project Engineer gave the assurance that despite the increase in the water level, there were adequate equipment and manpower to deliver the project ahead of schedule.
“Although our work is going fine, we have some delays because it is the time of the water going up. So, this is the time we cannot work fully in the water. I hope in one month the water will go down one meter, two meters, we will go fully with the work. We have enough equipment and experienced people to finish the job”, he remarked.”
In his remarks, Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku described the construction of the Oweto Bridge as historic with the potential to change the economic fortunes of the North-Central.
“With this bridge alone, North-Central has changed. We can move from here to the South-East, easier; we can move from the South-East, South-South to the North easier than before. Even before this bridge is commissioned, we are seeing economic activities are taking up here”, he stated.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate