Confusion on Apapa-Tincan access road as 3 entities now work on same axis
There seems to be some levels of confusion playing out in the repairs or reconstruction of Apapa-Tincan port access road.
It would be recalled that the bad state of the access road especially from Apapa port gate towards Liverpool to Tincan port and Coconut had forced port workers to embark on strike which attracted the management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) few months ago.
Part of the conditions for the suspension of the strike was NPA’s resolve to effect repairs on the stretch.
At a time NPA repairs were ongoing, the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing struck a deal with Dangote Group to reconstruct the same road from the beginning to Oworonshoki on concrete and enjoy a 10 year tax holiday from the federal government.
Addressing newsmen during a tour to inspect progress of work at the ongoing reconstruction sites at Apapa, the managing director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, observed that the Federal Government is interested in ensuring that the Gateway to the Nation’s Economy-the ports were effectively and efficiently serviced in order to tap into the financial dividends accrue-able to the National Economy.
Still on the same road, the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Godwin Eke, said on Sunday that “The bids for the repair of the Apapa Oshodi/Tin Can Island Road was passing through the procurement process and that government was planning to reconstruct the network of roads on the Apapa/Tin Can Island/Oshodi road corridor to reduce congestion to the barest minimum”.
According to him, “We will carry out some palliatives as soon as the procurement process is concluded. “The high water table in Apapa requires proper design and adoption of rigid pavement to ensure longevity of our roads,” Eke said.
From the above, there are some levels of confusion as three entities are now working on same road with federal government fund.
Whereas all the repairs both by FERMA and NPA are on asphalt, Dangote reconstruction according to the plan will be on concrete which means that whatever NPA and FERMA are doing on the stretch will be destroyed when Dangote will begin work.
Industry analysts who spoke to Business Hilights on the matter described the scenario playing out at Apapa and Tincan as a misplacement of priority and blatant abuse of the merger resources of the federal government.
Efforts to get further clarification from both the NPA and FERMA at press time failed.
