* Minister orders relocation of cooks under Carter bridge
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has allayed the fear of road users in Lagos about the integrity of the Third Mainland bridge as well as Eko and Carter bridges, saying “there is no need to worry.”
Explaining the work to be done, he said that some of the elements which are defective are going to be fixed, stressing that the federal government was going to reinstate the defective slabs with the new design.
Speaking to journalists yesterday after the joint assessment tour of the three bridges in company of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the minister explained that over the years, after the construction of the bridge, there was no serious maintenance.
He therefore assured that the failure of some parts of the bridge would be addressed. “So, we are working on the problems about the bridges,” a statement by the Director of Information in the ministry, Olusola Abiola, noted.
On the state of the Lagos shoreline, Umahi stressed that the shore protection on the Marina needs urgent attention, noting that the Lagos railway project, the blue line might be threatened if nothing is done to address the matter.
At the end of the exercise in Lagos, the ministers who agreed there was need for rehabilitation work to be carried out, noted that the impact created by the current of water under the bridges and on the shoreline needed intervention.
On the ongoing rehabilitation of the third mainland bridge, the minister revealed that some comprehensive works would be done especially in the area of provision of streetlights on and under the bridge and installation of Close Circuit Televisions (CCTVs).
While praising the work being done by the contractor, he assured that the bridge would be opened to road users soon.
On his part, Edun commended the minister of works and his team of officials for their efforts at rehabilitating the roads and bridges, describing them as very important for economic development.
While answering questions from reporters, the minister disclosed that the federal government was looking to raise revenue to finance infrastructure.
“What we are targeting and working towards is a 77 per cent increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the federal government. So that is where the funding particularly is going to come from,” he submitted.
Meanwhile, during the inspection tour, the works minister upon sighting those cooking under the Carter bridge, ordered that security be mobilised to stop the menace, adding that they should be relocated immediately to avoid any serious damage to the health of the bridge.
In continuation of the inspection of federal road projects in Lagos, the two ministers also visited the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and met with the contractor to review progress work on the project.
The project, when completed is expected to go through the shoreline linking Lagos with Calabar . On the inspection tour were senior government officials from the ministry, officials of Julius Berger and some journalists.
