Rivers govt to pay Julius Berger N150bn upfront for road project

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has announced that the state government will pay Julius Berger Nigeria Plc over N150 billion as an advance for a road project in the oil-rich state.

The governor made this known during the signing ceremony of the construction of the Port Harcourt Ring Road between the state government and Julius Berger on Wednesday.

“On our part as a government, we will meet our own obligations. After this event, we are paying you… The total value of the contract is N195.3 billion and we are paying you 77 percent of it, which is about N150 billion plus,” Mr Fubara told the Julius Berger team at the ceremony.

“In our agreement, we have agreed with you that once we have confirmed delivery of 75 percent of the initial fund released, we will commence your balance. And we are committed to that. I can assure you.

“We want to make sure this project as we start it, we must complete it. And as we have to do it, we need a reputable company – a company that has a track record of delivery. We are not doing this because we like you, we want you to still show that level of performance that you have been recording in this state.

“Any traditional ruler with his youths that want to be a problem (for the project) will immediately be suspended and any youth caught trying to sabotage our government would be prosecuted. I am not joking. This project is important to us,” the governorsaid.

“It’s a road that previous governments had attempted to do without success. The previous government initiated the process, and today we have finally started the process. The project will commence immediately,” said George Kelly-Alabo, the Commissioner for Works in the state.

“Julius Berger must have six teams to work concurrently in six locations of the project,” he added.

The project, known as the Port Harcourt Ring Road, spans approximately 50.15km and will cost the state N195.3 billion.

Out of the total length, 45km will be constructed as dual-carriageway, while the plan also includes the construction of six flyovers and a bridge across a river, with a total flyover length of 4.8km.

Julius Berger has been given a timeline of 36 months to complete the project.