By

Abdul-Kadir Abdullah

Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has assured that his administration will sustain funding for ongoing road projects across the state, with a target of achieving significant progress on the projects before Christmas.

Governor Okpebholo gave the assurance on Monday while inspecting ongoing construction works on the Arue-Uromi-Agbor road projects in Esan North East Local Government Area of the state, noting that despite the challenges posed by the rainy season, work was progressing across the various project sites.

The Governor said his administration was closely monitoring the projects and would continue to support the contractors with the necessary funding to ensure steady progress, particularly as the dry season approaches.

“We are here to look at what they are doing. We have gone around several project sites since morning to see how far they are going, and the work is progressing,” he said.

Okpebholo said the rainy season had limited the nature and pace of construction activities that could be undertaken at the moment, explaining that drainage works had become a major focus across the sites.

“By the grace of God, we are looking at what we can achieve between now and Christmas, because of the rainy season, nothing much can actually be done.

“The only thing they can do now is the drainage, which they are working on, and we are seeing the progress they are making across the various sites,” he said.

The Governor assured that the state government would continue to release funds to contractors as resources became available, stressing that funding would not be allowed to stall the projects.

“Our aim is to make sure that we do our best to fund them. As the money comes to us, we also use the money to fund them. So, we will continue to strive to ensure that progress is made on these roads,” Okpebholo said.

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to providing contractors with the resources required to sustain construction activities and deliver the road projects to the people.

According to him, the completed projects would significantly improve road infrastructure, ease movement and enhance connectivity for residents and motorists across the state, particularly during the Christmas period when vehicular movement traditionally increases.

The Area Manager of the construction company, Setraco Nigeria Ltd., Mr. Michel Aoy, said the Irrua-Uromi bypass road would be nine metres wide on each side, with a concrete barrier at the centre and street lighting along the route.

Aoy explained that securing the right of way for the 18.6-metre-wide road, alongside a drainage corridor of about 20 metres, had posed a major challenge to the project.

He, however, said substantial progress had now been made on the drainage component of the project.

“Now we can see the drain executed, which is the hardest step of the project and which will normally take time with contractors,” he said.