The Federal Government says the contract for the reconstruction of the 3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos, estimated by Julius Berger to cost 6.3 trillion naira, has not been awarded.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, stated this when the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, paid him a courtesy visit on Saturday in Abakaliki.
Umahi said defects on the 3rd Mainland Bridge and the Carter Bridge were not new, noting that he had been engaging stakeholders on the matter.
He explained that the 3rd Mainland Bridge, which is over 50 years old, was assessed in 2013 and 2019, and that deliberations were held with experts on how to address identified issues.
The minister added that while the Carter Bridge also required rehabilitation, works on the Eko Bridge were ongoing.
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“From our findings, to rehabilitate the Carter Bridge could cost us N386 billion, but to do a brand new bridge would be at about N359 billion.
“And for the 3rd Mainland Bridge, to repair it will cost us N3.86 trillion, but to construct a new 3rd Mainland Bridge will cost us N3.6 trillion.
“Now, that is the findings we took to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting. We did not take it there for contract to be awarded, we only brought estimated findings as done by Julius Berger Ltd.
“Therefore, no contract has been awarded for the reconstruction of 3rd Mainland Bridge and Carter Bridge. Any information aside this is not correct.
“And we believe strongly that if we expose these findings to more industry experts or players, they may come with a better solution and a better cost too.
