CONCRETE ROAD TECHNOLOGY WILL BE A HUGE SUCCESS, SAYS WORKS MINISTER ..... BUA Cement Restates Commitment To Reduction In Price

Works Minister, Engr David Umahi 

"As a government, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu understands, that concrete road technology is going to be a huge success for the benefit of the people." Umahi

 

Works Minister, Engr David Umahi has reiterated that, as a government, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu understands, that concrete road technology is going to be a huge success for the benefit of the people.

The Honourable Minister of Works stated this during his continuation of inspection visits to ongoing project sites in Sokoto, Northwest region of the country.

According to the Honourable Minister in a statement issued and signed by the Director, Information Department of the Federal Ministry of Works, Olusola Abiola, "We are sure that utilising concrete road technology is the right decision and so, we have not made any mistakes insisting that concrete road technology should take its root, especially in some of these key projects.”

He disclosed this today in Sokoto while fielding questions from journalists after the inspection of BUA Cement facility which is part of his inspection of ongoing rehabilitation of highways in Sokoto State.

Engr Umahi, Sen. Tambuwal, Group Executive Director, BUA Cement, Alhaji Kabir Rabiu others at the BUA Cement factory in Sokoto on Thursday.

Speaking on his visit to the State, Sen. Umahi disclosed that; “first, I am here to inspect, as you know, a very ambitious road project being embarked upon by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Nigeria, Senator Tinubu Ahmed. 

"The Federal Government is constructing 372 kilometers of roads. Multiply this by two, as it's dualization. One is an existing one, which we are doing complete rebuilding, and then a brand new road. If you put this two together, will give you a total of 744 km roads."

The Honourable Minister revealed that; “Mr. President wants this road completed very fast, but wasn't too sure if we can get the volume of cement to use. So, we are constructing the first 372 kilometers running from Kaduna, Zaria, Zamfara, to Sokoto, with asphalt as the carriageway, and then the shoulders will be concrete.”

“But, the entire new lane, carriageway, will be constructed with concrete.” He stated.

Stressing the agenda of President Tinubu for the road sector, Sen. Umahi reiterated that, “I know very well that Mr. President still desires that the public should get something much better. And he is giving all the support. So, we still expect that you will fulfill the promise you made to Mr. President as we are going back to the status quo so that the public can benefit.

“The very massive housing project Mr. President has embarked upon will definitely see the light of the day. And also, the massive road construction Mr. President has embarked upon will also benefit from this initiative.”

Commenting on his impression of facility tour of BUA Cement, Sen Umahi said: “So we have gone there, we have seen, and it's quite amazing, the complexity of the cement factory of BUA in Sokoto.”

“We saw very organized industrial setup, no single dust. There was no need to use a nose mask. There was no loitering of workers, everything being in automation.”

While speaking to journalists about the cooperation of BUA Group with the Federal Government on the reduction of price of cement, the Group Executive Director, BUA Cement, Alhaji Kabir Rabiu while thanking the Minister, told them his company stands by their commitment made to the Federal Government two weeks ago.

The GED, BUA Cement restated his company's commitment, to not only pricing but also on additional capacity to go to the market.

He reassured that, "with 165 additional trucks on a daily basis from our Sokoto cement allotment, we are putting almost 400 trucks by day of cement into the market.”

“We believe this additional capacity is going to have a serious positive effect on the supply and demand issue in the country," he emphasized.

He reaffirmed that “we also gave in our commitment that we don't believe cement should sell more than 7,000 Naira anywhere in Nigeria.

He thus promised that “we will continue to do our best to support this administration, to support Mr. President's agenda in ensuring that Nigerian economy is back on its feet and is doing so much better than it is doing at the moment.”

On his part, the Senate Chairman of Committee on Housing, Senator Aminu Tambuwal noted that cement product is very critical and a major component towards delivery of housing projects by the Federal Government by state governments and even by the private sector in our country.

The inspection visit by the Honourable Minister to Sokoto and Zamfara States will see him inspect four projects across four States; which includes Katsina and Kaduna States.