Concrete Roads More Durable, Cheap, Umahi Insists

The Minister of Works, David Umahi has reiterated that concrete has been discovered to be more durable and cost effective in the construction of roads in some parts of the country. A statement by the Director of Press FMW, Mrs Blessing Lere-Adams, disclosed that the minister said this during a meeting with Directors of the Ministry in Abuja. The meeting was held for the purposes of clarification on pavements built with concrete and asphalt. Umahi said there were a lot of advantages in using concrete in road construction, stressing that roads built with concrete could last for 50 years without having issues of portholes or washout. “Concrete roads have a longer lifespan, it can withstand heavy traffic loads, low maintenance, less affected by temperature fluctuations. “A lot of advantages accrue to the use of concrete to construct roads, concrete roads last longer, compared to asphalt roads, reducing the need for frequent repairs and maintenance. “It is stronger and can withstand heavy traffic loads, it also has low maintenance,” Umahi said. Umahi, however, stated that nobody was insisting that all ongoing road construction in the nation should be changed to concrete. He said such could happen under some conditions, including roads constructed with asphalt pavement must be on concrete shoulder, with an alternative design on the road shoulder. He added that some of the contractors were still working with obsolete and old machines. He encouraged the directors to come to him for any suggestion or logical argument, saying that the mission of Tinubu’s administration was to improve on the road infrastructure across the nation for the good of all. “I am appealing to our consciences to see ourselves as people going to the same direction and pursuing the same agenda for the betterment of all. “All those in the field are the same with people in the office. Services in the office is what is keeping the services in the site,” Umahi said. 

Cement Price Won’t Hit N9000; Road Contractors Always Inflating Contracts, Says Umahi

The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi has debunked claims by Cement manufacturers that the price would hit N9,000 if the government starts constructing concrete roads. According to the minister, the claims were all campaigned against him by the cabals in the construction industry. Umahi, who made the remarks during a meeting with contractors handling federal roads, expressed dismay at how contractors cheat Nigerians in the materials they use to construct roads in the country. He lamented that roads that are currently constructed in the country would not last for seven years after they are completed. The minister said the contractors have been in the habit of increasing the cost of their projects to swindle the country through contract variation and the use of asphalt materials, which are subject to the international price of crude oil. He added that he has stopped the signing of the funds to be released to contracts who are seeking price variation of their contracts, and bemoaned the pains Nigerians face while traveling on federal roads saying he had to feel their pains when he traveled to Edo state from Abuja. “There is no project being constructed right now in Nigeria that is going to last for seven years. The question is, are we going to be maintaining or reconstructing our roads every 10 years? That is what we have been doing. I traveled from Abuja to Benin City through Lokoja, all the stretches of the road are on contract, ongoing; this is through the policy of the last administration but how much of the roads are motorable? “I traveled through the roads myself and I shed tears for the kind of pain our people are going through. I spent 14 hours on the road having started my journey from 10am and got to Benin City at 2 pm the next day. I was very happy I experienced the pain. “President Tinubu said I must travel through all the projects so that I will brief him on my experience and tell him the truth.” He added that he is doing his work with the fear of God as he is representing the people and I receive instructions from the President.