According to a report published on The Nation, on the 24th of November, the Federal Ministry of Works has verified that Onitsha/Awka end of the Anambra expressway will be ready by December 16th.
The report stated that according to Bola Aganaba, the Federal Director of Highways in the Southeast, one lane of the road will be complete by the middle of 2021; this declaration followed the post-raining season inspection of rehabilitation of federal roads in the state.
He also affirmed that 18 kilometres of the road, which amounts to one side of the road, was being reconstructed and they would open the road for commuting during the yuletide.
He further revealed that for smooth transit on the road, arrangements with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have been made to ensure people do not encounter gridlocks.
His closing remarks show that one side of the road will not be fully constructed till the middle of 2021, the road being opened in December 2020 is simply for the ease of commuting.
These reports are a step up from the Federal Government’s seemingly inattentive stance to the construction of the road. A pm news report in May 2020 stated that the Anambra House of Assembly was urging the Federal Government to resume and complete the work on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Nnamdi Okafor, Majority Leader and member representing Awka South I Constituency, motioned this appeal following the reduced pace of construction upon the Lockdown and state boundary closures that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pm news report quotes the representative who shared his concern about the slow nature of the resumption of contractor Reynold Construction Company (RCC) upon the lockdown relief. In his statement, Okafor mentioned the possibility of an economic boost and improved delivery time if RCC completed the construction of the expressway in time.
The Enugu-Onitsha expressway is a major highway that connects the South-West through River Niger to the South-East, South-South, and Northern Nigeria via Benue and Kogi; that is why the Federal Government and RCC must keep to their December 16 promise, as commuting to hometowns for yuletide will begin to pick up around that time.
InlandTown! 2020