The Minister of Works Dave Umahi, on Thursday stated that he will ensure the construction of roads that will last at least 50 years.
He said this on Thursday while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“I noticed that some of the projects, while you are still on the roads, have gone bad,” the former Ebonyi State governor, who was sworn in, among 44 others, on Monday, said.
“The lifespan of a road is between five to seven years. That should not be. And that’s why everywhere, we are putting money on projects and not getting value for it.
“I have directed that all the ‘no objections’ my ministry submitted to the BPP be returned. We need to look at the new method of constructing our roads based on our climate.
“The moment we deploy concrete technology… I am speaking with the state governors on this. It is a revolution that is going to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians.
“I promise Nigerians, with the directive of President Bola Tinubu, that any road we do with our new technology, for fifty years, nobody is going to maintain it. “Money will be saved and money will be wisely spent in our tenure.”
He also added that the Bola Tinubu administration is prepared to provide money to the nation’s road construction programme. But he added that the government is also considering ways to make building less expensive.
“We are looking at all these things. How do we cut down costs? Because the primary issue is also the cost of construction,” he said.
“We are looking at the figures but it looks like a lot of contractors are not willing, but I will make them to make the change – we are all engineers.
“I am telling them your profit, I will protect whatever thing you want to make but, let’s help Nigeria, let’s build a road that will last and the funny thing is that the government – the President will give out the money.”
