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Outsourcing Infrastructure in Nigeria’s East-West Road

Posted on September 6, 2016

When Goodluck Jonathan was the president of Nigeria, and Godsday Orubebe was minister of Niger Delta Ministry, the Nigeria’s East-West Road was promised to be completed in December 2014. The truth is, ever since East-West Road was awarded in 2004, it had the completion dates of 2010, 2012, and 2014. However, until today, the East-West Road has yet to be finished. The issue was not the lack of money. The issue was the abundance of money. It was reported that $2.1 billion was on the table but then-President Jonathan did not know how to allocate it. Until such time that the project was forgotten, and nothing was allocated for the project — even opting for outsourcing.

The East-West Road is a 330-kilometer road from Warri through Port Harcourt to Oron in Akwa Ibom State. This road is an enhancement ofan existing route into a dual-carriage.

Between Warri and Kaiama looks good, and the road has been completed. However, when the dual-carriage terminates, traffic from opposite ends meets into a common lane. Because of this, a distance of less than two kilometers can be covered in more than an hour.

Another frightening issue is the “abandoned” road improvement from Warri to Port Harcourt – the two important oil cities. The construction activities were all gone. Having a poorly constructed road might be a big loss for the country. Oil has a price of $40 per barrel. An estimated $40 million is lost daily due to infrastructure issue.

The Federal Government can cut a direct deal to save 50 percent of oil money for years. The management of the fund can be outsourced to UN for a good purpose. Also, the area can be outsourced to UN.

 

Source:

Arrested Development & Outsourcing the Niger Delta, today.ng