President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, said the ancillary works, including the completion of the interchange of Asaba in the Second Niger Bridge, will soon be completed.
President Tinubu stated this during the official handover of the bridge to the Federal Government by Julius Berger construction company at the project site.
Tinubu then commended his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, for providing the needed support that led to the completion of the project.
Tinubu, represented by the Minister for Works, Senator David Umahi, however, assured Nigerians that the All Progressives Congress-led administration will deliver more projects across the country.
His words: “We are here to take over the completed works of Julius Berger on the 2nd Niger Bridge and the access roads.
“We are satisfied with the works they have completed under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“We thank the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, for doing quite a lot to bring this project to function, and of course, my predecessor, Babatunde Fashola.
“The job is impeccably very beautiful and well completed. This project was jointly supervised by the NSIA and the Ministry of Works and is under PIDF funding mechanism by the federal government.”
In his part, Obiora Bede, Director Bridge Design and Construction, Federal Ministry of Works, thanked the federal government for ensuring that the project is completed and urged the people of the region to make judicious use of the bridge and protect the facilities from being vandalized.
“We thank the federal government under the able leadership of the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, who have worked assiduously to ensure that this project, which for a long time felt like a dream, came to a reality.
“Both the staff of the Ministry and the contractor worked well with the contractor, and here we are today at a finished project.
“We do hope that the public will complement this homogenous expenditure by abiding by the rules of the road and that people around too will help us ensure that the facilities already installed and those to be installed are kept.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Nigeria, Dr. Lars Richter, said the project was delivered to the best quality.
“After a couple of years of construction, we are here today to hand over the entire River Niger Bridge, including the toll stations with the facilities, to the client successfully completed within time.
“We got the main contract in 2017. In the middle of the year 2023, the bridge was commissioned by the previous administration, and today is the technical handover to the new administration.
“It was delivered to the best quality, and the federal government is satisfied with the projects.
“From tomorrow, we can now say that the project is the project of the Federal Ministry of Works, and I am delighted to hand over the project to the client.”
Meanwhile, Senator Umahi also inspected other ongoing projects in the region, which include the Enugu-Port Harcourt highway, the Enugu-Onitsha Highway, and the collapsed New Artisan bridge in Enugu.
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