FG Hands Over Construction of N545bn New Carter Bridge to CCECC

The federal government has officially handed over the construction of a brand-new Carter Bridge in Lagos to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), as part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring the safety of Nigerians.

The event took place at Carter Bridge, Lagos Island, Lagos State, a statement in Abuja by Francis Nwaze, spokesman to the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Umahi said the decision to reconstruct the bridge became necessary after years of alarming structural investigations revealed worsening defects beneath both the Carter Bridge and the 3rd Mainland Bridge.

According to the minister, investigations into the underwater structural elements of the bridges began as far back as 2013, with another assessment carried out in 2019. The reports, he said, showed that the defects were increasing at what experts described as “geometrical progression.”

“The past administration commissioned an investigation of what was happening with the structural elements below the water, and that was in 2013. And the very disturbing defects were noticed in Carter Bridge and 3rd Mainland Bridge,” Umahi stated.

He explained that upon assumption of office, the present administration immediately engaged geologists and specialist divers to conduct further underwater investigations, which confirmed that some piles supporting the bridges had already shifted from their pile caps.

Umahi said extensive consultations were held with bridge experts, stakeholders and members of the National Assembly, including foreign professionals, to determine the best solution.

Experts, according to him, advised that repairing the Carter Bridge would cost almost twice the amount required to build a completely new structure. Following detailed technical analysis, the federal government, he said, approved the construction of a new modern bridge.