Uncompleted section of Enugu-Onitsha expressway

By Lucy Osuizigbo-Okechukwu

The Anambra House of Assembly on Friday urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to resume and complete work on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

The resolution followed a motion raised by Mr Nnamdi Okafor, Majority Leader and member representing Awka South l Constituency.

According to Okafor, the Enugu-Onitsha expressway is a major highway that connects the South-West through River Niger to the South-East, South-South, and Northern Nigeria via Benue and Kogi.

He said the reconstruction contact of the important Trunk-A highway with heavy vehicular traffic, was awarded to Messrs Reynold Construction Company (RCC) in November 2018 with a completion period of 42 months.

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The majority leader said that RCC started work immediately on the worst dilapidated Umunya/Awkuzu axis and completed it in record time.

He said the company immediately after, embarked on the Amawbia/Awkuzu section.

According to him, the contractors were doing well until the lockdown and state boundary closures that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The lockdowns and interstate border closures have been lifted by the federal government several weeks ago, and construction companies and businesses have since resumed their activities.

“We are worried that the contractor, RCC, has yet to return to the site about five months after stoppage of work, and the reconstruction may be abandoned again as was done in the past.

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“We are also convinced that immediate resumption of work and completion of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway will boost economic activities and improve goods delivery time.

“It will also minimise vehicular damages, increase revenues to states served by the highway and eliminate the agonies of the road users,” the lawmaker said.

The Speaker, Mr Uche Okafor, commended the federal government for the quality of work being done on the road and prayed for the immediate resumption of work on it.

NAN