It was a joyful moment for the people and residents of Enugu state, Thursday,October 12,2023’ when the state Governor ,Dr. Peter Mbah flagged off of the construction, rehabilitation and repairs of 71 Urban roads, starting his journey towards building a new Enugu City.
Gov. Mbah
The construction of the New Enugu City roads is made up of 17km dual carriageway and feeder roads, 40km dual carriageway, and the construction/reconstruction of 71 urban roads in the state.
The Governor had in his address at the retreat held for heads of Ministries, Departments, Agencies, boards and Parastatals at the Nike Resort, Enugu recently, presented a video clip on the proposed new Enugu city,, a beauty to behold.
Gov. Mbah
The journey towards making his proposal a realty started, Thursday. with the flag- off of the Premier Layout road project awarded to IDC Construction Limited. At the event, Gov. Mbah assured that the urban roads would be simultaneously executed and delivered before the end of December.
He said,’ These 71 roads as identified in the first phase will be completed between now and December. The funds for these roads have been secured. So, there is no reason the contactors will not complete these roads as and when due. We are not going to entertain any variation, any delay or time overrun because the funds will be provided and we will ensure that we put in place a close monitor to ensure not only that the standards we have agreed are met, but also that the timelines are met strictly.
HRH,Igwe Okeke Arun
“You are not going to have open drainage so that you will have pedestrian parts well paved, you will have streetlights, and roads that will last us a long time”, he said.
Performing the function at Premier layout, Goshen , Enugu, PRODA road, Emene and Ubahu-Amankanu -Owo-Isi-Uzo at (Owo junction), respectively, Governor Mbah reiterated his administration’s commitment to restoring the past glory of the state and making the state a premier destination for investment and business
He said about 400 kilometres roads were flagged off in this first phase Speaking at the event, Governor Mbah noted that the needed funds have been provided. He called on the people of the host communities to corporate with the contractors so as to ensure speedy execution of the projects.
Commissioner for Children,Gender, Mrs Ngozi Enih
He said the projects, which would be executed by ttheChina Communication Construction Company Nigeria limited will project Enugu state as one of the top cities in the world, attract foreign investors and tourists.
He added that the projects would be completed between now and the next 24 months
“We are here not only to witness the construction of a road, we are here to witness the construction of infrastructure. In this New City, we are going to have a dedicated power project, a central sewage system, high speed internet, and there is hardly anything you will find in any modern smart city that you will not find in this City”.
HRH,Igwe Edeani
Speaking , the chairman of Enugu north local government area,Emeka Onunze, thanked Governor Mbah for the project.
At Proda road , Governor Mbah said the first phase of the project would cover 26 square kilometres comprising the Happy Island, the Vitality Bay, and the Innovation Park in line with the purposes the New City is to serve.
Speaking, the contractor, Deputy Managing Director of CCCC Nigeria, Henry Li, assured the government of first-rate projects and early competition.
He said, “As the contractor entrusted with this significant undertaking, we recognise the responsibility that comes with it. We pledge our unwavering commitment to delivering the benchmark road on time and with the highest quality”.
The lEnugu East Local Government chairman, Hon. Livinus Anike ,thanked Governor Mbah for the initiative. He pledged the support of the people of Enugu East
The Deputy Managing Director said the new Enugu city project will compete with other developed cities of the world such as Dubai and Singapore when completed
At Owo, the Governor while flagging off the construction of the 40km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu- Isi-Uzo dual degree going to be a major gateway to the North Central and it is going to open up our rural areas.
“Recall that we said we are going to unlock our rural economy and the best way to do that is to ensure that we have access roads to our farmlands and we will also create special economic zones in our rural areas. But we are not thinking about agriculture as food only, but also as export commodities, ” he said.
The Governor assured that the roads will be completed at the time specified. He He assured that sufficient funds will be generated to execute the project.
“We have grown our revenue to 200%.Our target is to grow it to 500%.We will plug all the leakages. This flag-off is symbolic “,the Governor said.
Mbah said put at 400km the total length of roads flagged off for construction in the first phase of the government’s quest to build 10,000km of roads.
the chairman of Nkanu East LGA, Hon Okechukwu Edeh, thanked the governor for the lofty initiative and his commitment to good governance, described the projects as people oriented and called on the various communities and indeed the people of the state to support the government
Royal fathers
The members of the various communities,, thanked the governor for the projects. They promised to cooperate with the contractors to ensure execution of the projects.
Contractors
Among those who spoke at the event were were the Royal fathers of Owo, HRH, Igwe Okeke Arum, H R.H. Hycient Edeani and the Commissioner Children and Gender , Hon. Mrs Ngozi Eni
Author: Maureen Ikpeama