The great strides recorded in road infrastructure across the country will enhance socio-economic development, the Southwest Zone Director, Highways, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, has said.
He spoke in Oyo town while addressing reporters after one-day inspection tour of two federal road projects in the state.
Kuti was accompanied by two state controllers of Works, Mr. Kayode Ibrahim (Oyo State) and his Osun State counterpart, Mr. Orisaleye Ayodeji.
The projects inspected are the ongoing reconstruction of 108-kilometre Ibadan – Ilesa dual carriage way and the 52-kilometre Oyo-Ogbomoso dual carriage way.
Kuti said the roads were strategic in the Southwest because they linked the entire traffic from Lagos to Ibadan and to the North en route Ilesa-Akure or Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin route.
“These roads are vital to the socio-economic development of the country, as we all know that Nigeria depends on roads as the major means of transportation.
“When the projects are completed, travelling time will be reduced. Also, cost of vehicle maintenance will go down because there won’t be bad portions and commercial activities will improve along the roads’ corridor,” he said.
Speaking about the 108-kilometre Ibadan Ileife-Ilesa road, Kuti said the project was awarded to Kopek Construction Company, in 2020 “but work couldn’t take off properly as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and challenges of funding.
“But now, the project has been placed under SUKUZ, so we have some allocations on it.”
The Controller of Works in Oyo State, Mr. Kayode Ibrahim, said the state was well captured in the road infrastructure development of the current administration, adding that many federal roads in the state are now receiving adequate attention.
The Project Managers of Kopek Construction Company and RCC, Pascal Harfouch and Israel Yakov, promised to deliver quality jobs.