In recent times, several road construction projects undertaken by the Federal Government across the country have been abandoned by the contractors responsible for them.
The primary reason cited for these abandonments is the contractors’ requests for price variations, arguing that the agreed sums are insufficient to complete the projects due to factors such as inflation and the cost of importing machinery.
Examples of recently abandoned road construction projects include the Bodo-Bonny road project being handled by Julius Berger, the Lokoja-Benin and Obajana Junction-Benin road projects in Kogi and Edo States, and the 15km section of East-West Road from Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction in Rivers State.
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In response to these abandonments, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Works, has issued ultimatum notices to contractors, demanding they return to the construction sites or sign revised contracts.
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However, despite these sanctions, the government has had to make compromises to ensure project continuation. For instance, the Federal Government recently approved an additional N280 billion for Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. to complete the Bodo-Bonny road project, despite initially deciding against agreeing to any price variations requested by the contractor.