David Umahi, Minister of Works, has threatened to terminate the contract of Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway if the contractor fails to mobilise to site in the next seven days.
The minister gave the warning in Lagos on Tuesday while inspecting an evacuated but now refilled section of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road that served as refuse dump.
While answering questions from journalists, Umahi noted that RCC had delayed the completion of the section of the road due to disagreement about negotiations between the contractor and the ministry.
While Messrs Julius Berger Plc has completed Section 1 of the expressway from Lagos to Sagamu Interchange, the minister said that could not be said of Messrs RCC as about three kilometres of the Ibadan-bound section of the road has not been completed.
He said, “Also, it has the 8.5 kilometers Lagos-bound, which was redesigned as concrete pavement.
“We have done this with RCC for the past eight months, to and fro. After seven days from this date, if they don’t mobilise to site, we will give them Letter of Termination.
“Negotiation must have a timeframe. We have to negotiate for one year, and when we terminate contract now, people will begin to talk.
“A contractor says this is what we want to take to do this job. The client says this is what I can afford, and the contractor is insisting you must agree to its own cost.
“The question is: if I give at his cost, do I have ability to pay? If I don’t and the contractor is not ready to take what others are taking, then we will have no other choice than to terminate the contract.
“Like the Oyo-Ogbomoso road; this project also has stayed for 18 years.”
While inspecting the ongoing construction of the first 47 kilometers of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the minister said it would be ready by May next year.
The minister however said that the bad portions of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway will be reconstructed as a concrete pavement.
