The quest to repair Section 3 part of the East West Road from Eleme to Onne Junction came got off the ground, Wednesday, as seven multinational companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Rivers State Government, just as the state governor, Nyesom Wike, officially flagged off commencement of work.
Worried with the derelict condition of the road linking Port Harcourt Refinery, Indorama Petrochemicals, West African Container Terminal (WACT), Intels, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and Oil and Gas Free Zone, Governor Wike had approached the firms for a joint effort to revamp the road initially under the auspices of Ministry of Niger Delta.
The cost of the project is N3billion, but according to the MoU the companies and the Rivers State Government will pay an initial 50 per cent of total sum and the remainder paid once the project is 80 per cent complete.
The project is handled by Israeli construction firm Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) and is expected to be completed in two months. The road covers 6 square kilometres and the company will also guarantee the road lasts at least for two years, as part of the agreement.
As at Wednesday four companies- Intels, NPA, WACT and the Port Harcourt Refinery have released their own part of funding, as the Ministry of Niger Delta is to supervise it.
Governor Wike while flagging off the road project exercise at Akpajo in Eleme Local Government Area said the initiative is to make sure investors do not leave the state, explaining that the state of the road had become a source of worry to the state government.
“We cannot wait for the Federal Government; we have to do it ourselves. Until the federal government comes we will not die but have to survive,” the governor remarked.
Lamenting the man hours lost by workers and the rate of crime along the route, Wike stated that the new measure will help to insure investors confidence that government is ready to provide conducive environment for them.
