Senate committee frowns at delay in Apapa trailer park project

The Senate Committee on Works on Sunday expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work on the ongoing shoreline protection of the Apapa trailer park project in Lagos.

The committee, led by its chairman, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, representing Kano South Federal Constituency, raised the concern during an inspection tour of projects in Lagos as part of its oversight function.

Gaya directed the contractor to construct more toilets, restaurants, clinic, and other facilities needed in the park.

“Borini Promo promised us that by December that trailer park should be completed and we are not taking it lightly, we are not happy with the progress, the project has been there for many years.

”We have told the contractor that the trailer park is very important, that the facilities at the trailer park are not enough, we need to add more and there is space where other facilities can be constructed.

“And the Ministry of Works should take note of those facilities whether they come under contingencies, they should make sure it is done before the end of the year.

“And we intend to come back around the 16th or 17th of December to make sure that project is completed,” Gaya said.

While fielding questions from journalists, he said that funding had been provided for the project and the funds had been released by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“Now that funds have been released, the contractor should have no excuse in delaying the project,” he said.

Earlier, the contractor on the project and ministry officials had explained to the committee that the original project before addition of the shoreline protection aspect was 97 per cent completed.

Mr Gainrranco Albertazzi, Joint Managing Director, Borini Prono, the contractors handling the project, assured the committee that the trailer park without the shoreline aspect of the project would be completed in December.

“We have reached about 97 per cent, what remains is asphalt.

“For the shoreline we are going to import some materials. This is the shoreline to be protected, we would import a machine, there would be geotextile materials,” Albertazzi said.

He promised to increase the workforce to meet the December deadline.

Our correspondent observed that the shoreline, which had become an open defecation field, was being freshly graded.

Speaking on the Apapa-Wharf Road Reconstruction project, the committee chairman commended the efforts of AG Dangote Construction Company Ltd and the other stakeholders who funded the project to completion.

On the Apapa/Ijora bridge rehabilitation by Leventis, the representative of Julius Berger said that the portion of the bridge deck and beam badly damaged by fire would be completed in three months.

The engineer said that some of the materials for the bridge deck were being sourced from abroad.

While inspecting repair of expansion joints and abutment of the Third Mainland Bridge, Gaya expressed satisfaction with efforts by Borini Promo towards salvaging the bridge.

Speaking on the delay on the various repair works on the bridge since 2013, the chairman said that the issues of funding have been resolved.

“There were some delays but now that the project has been funded, in 26 months it will be completed,” Gaya said.

Gaya said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has spent much and was increasing its infrastructure spending on all roads in the nation.

“The amount of money put up in road infrastructure in the last three years is quite a lot,” he said.

He said that the committee as part of its oversight was also checking the quality of work being done on various projects layer by layer to ensure they last.

Other projects inspected include the Ikorodu/Sagamu Road, Access Road to NNPC Depot in Mosimi in Ogun and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.