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River Niger Dredging: Minister Bemoans Failure to Meet Deadline

In his first inspection tour of the dredging project since assumption of office, the Minister of Transport, Yusuf Suleiman decried the attitude of some consultants to the preparation of projects for subsequent award and execution in Nigeria, “which has resulted in the inability to complete the dredging project at the stipulated date.”

Suleiman  stated this yesterday in Baro, Niger State when he inspected work done on 2 of the 5 lots of the on-going dredging of the Lower Niger, and expressed his unhappiness that the consultant of the project had contributed to the lateness of the completion of the dredging project. 

He said the June deadline for the completion of the on-going dredging of the lower River Niger which was flagged off by late President Umaru Yar’ Adua can not be achieved.
 While the other three lots have recorded substantial level of completion, some up to 85 per cent, lots 3 and 5 still have substantial work undone.

According to  him, lot 3 (Idah to Onitsha) was being delayed because the contractor Van Oord is also handling lot 4 (Onitsha to Jamata) and because of this, dwelt on lot 4 to the detriment of lot 3. On lot 5 (Jamata-Baro) “the problem encountered a design problem. While the original contract earmarked 1.6 million cubic metres of sand to be dredged, the contractor William Lloyd

Technical Company Nigeria Limited has dredged 900,000 cubic metres with less that 15 per cent of the work done.”
He however disclosed that the federal government will sit with the contractor towards clearing the grey areas and ensure overall project completion before the end of the year. The capital dredging should have been completed by June this year while maintenance dredging runs for another 2 years.

Meanwhile, the Minister following allegations by the Executive Secretary, Area Development, Baro, Mr. Jubril Ndagi, that some of the contractors abandon the job, and only mobilizes to site when there is a Ministerial tour, or inspection from NIWA officials, had said he will henceforth make unannounced visits to project site, to check whether or not contractors are on site working non stop.

He also expressed similar sentiments at the construction site of the Baro Port where he instructed the contractor HCCG to ensure that the 24 month duration is strictly adhered to. The contractor also promised to deliver the job on schedule. He however stated that lack of a good access road to the site had severely hampered his efforts.

However, the Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Ahmed Yar’Adua, said the challenges facing both the ports construction and dredging projects are not uncommon.

“In all engineering design, when you come to site, most often what you meet might be different, you have to look at the peculiarity of each site, sit down and redesign in line with the constraints that might be causing delays to work progress,” Yar’Adua explained.

(Culled from Daily Trust).

Detailsof the 2010 Nigerian Dredging Summit holding at Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

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