The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, has issued a warning to Julius Berger regarding the potential revocation of a section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway rehabilitation contract.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, made the statement during a visit to inaugurate the highway's rehabilitation in the Zuba area of the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday.
The government expressed concerns over delays in the project's completion and emphasized the need for timely progress to ensure improved road infrastructure for Nigerians.
The PUNCH reports that the contract was awarded to Julius Berger in 2018 when former President Muhammadu Buhari was in power.
While the Kaduna-Zaria section has been completed and the Zaria-Kano section is almost done, the Abuja-Kaduna section has recorded 27 per cent progress in 6 years.
Speaking during the event, Umahi accused Julius Berger of playing politics with the highway to make the current administration look bad.
He said the company was seeking N1.5trn for the project, but it was reviewed to N740bn by the Federal Executive Council.
He said, “Berger said to do this entire job, it needs N1.5tn; we started negotiation in September last year, writing letters every week. Eventually, we told them that despite the ones they were requesting, it would still take them four years to complete as there have been traffic jams and kidnappings on the road. We presented the option of balancing the road into three, which the President approved. When we did that, Berger accepted it and the rate.