As part of efforts to quicken the delivery of Apapa-Wharf road which is under construction by AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd, has started the relocation of underground Gas pipelines and telecoms cables to free construction activities.
This was revealed by the managing director of the company, Mr. Ashif Juma, weekend during a site inspection exercise who disclosed that gas pipes in the Right of Way (RoW) had slowed down the project for more than two months.
He noted that the construction work was divided into four sections and work is going on simultaneously on two sections.
Continuing, apart from construction disruptions caused by pipelines, the high traffic in the axis is also hampering the project
Juma added that “We are working with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and Gaslink to relocate some pipes under the drains.
“Nobody was aware of the pipes when we began the project because this road was constructed over 40 years ago.
“And nobody has drawings of where utilities are so, we have been careful excavating.
“We are starting the relocation of the gas pipelines from today and it will take us one week of careful work to finish so that construction work can continue.
“We need to dig deep to lay the foundation for a good concrete road but the gas pipes have not allowed us to do that so, we have been working on other sections.
“After this relocation, we will do a good job as we have done in over 21 countries; building durable concrete roads.
“We only appeal to people of Lagos to be patient with us because this portion we are constructing will last more than 50 years,” he said.
He gave an assurance that by the end of the month, the public would see the visible concrete road.
“Inspite of the challenges, we want to complete the road by June 2018.
“Today, we have about 93 people working on site with about 27 equipment and we are working six days a week.
AG Dangote further assured that “After the rainy season, we would do seven days and run two shifts for 24 hours,” he, stressing that most of the drainage slabs were being mass produced there and the pre-cast walls and slabs were being moved to the construction zone to speed up work.
On why the slabs are produced on site, Juma revealed that “We produce here for two reasons, speed and good quality of concrete”.
Business Hilights recalls that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, had on June 17 signed the N4.34 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the reconstruction of the four kilometres road with AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd and other stakeholders including Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
