Motorists have lauded the Federal Government over the expansion of the 5.4km Abuja-Keffi Expressway as well as the dualization of the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi Road by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
They also commended the company for the pace and quality of work on the project The main work on the project has been completed, which is significantly reducing the travel time from Abuja to Makurdi from originally 7 hours to 4 hours. And a provisional taking over certificate has been received by CHEC from the Federal Government.
During the construction phase, the project has generated employment opportunities, benefiting the local community. Notably, there have been no incidents of insecurity, and robust community engagements have taken place, ensuring that the project progresses smoothly.
One of the motorists, Mohammed Abdullahi said, “This road has been a nightmare for so many years. We had so many problems on this road. Congestion, traffic, sometimes the traffic lasts for a whole day. This has been going on for several years. But we are happy now, this road is now going on. It is so fast, and we are happy with the construction company for doing such good job.”
“The road has made transportation a breeze for us from this axis. The company has been doing very well. We have been expecting this road to be done before now, but since this present administration started this work, it has been moving very fine. So, there is no problem. We thank God for the company,” another motorist Ifeanyi Eze said.
The road infrastructure was carried out in collaboration with the Chinese Government. It was gathered that this is the first time that financing by China Exim Bank is carried out on a road project in Nigeria. Due to such funding arrangement from China EXIM Bank, the construction period was achieved in four (4) years.
Amongst the 12 highways concessioned under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing’s Highway Management Development Initiative (HDMI) is Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Makurdi. On Friday 26th, May 2023, the concession agreement was signed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing with the concessionaires in a signing ceremony at the Headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works.
A tolling system is to be introduced on this Highway which would involve implementing tolling plazas to raise money for the road maintenance and recoup the cost used in constructing the road.
China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and the Federal Government approved this process as one that enables faster construction of roads without straining the budget of the government, while ensuring the sustainability of funding for infrastructure in Nigeria.
The regular collection of toll fees from commuters would also foster the maintenance of a high-quality road pavement and ancillary infrastructures due to regular maintenance make the road have as it is financed by the public.
CHEC and the Federal Governments’ approval conveys their aim to enhance the long-term sustainability of this road project.