By Victor Nwegede
The Contractor, Julius Berger has formally handed over the newly constructed Second Niger Bridge to the federal government.
The handover of the multi-billion Naira project took place on Sunday, seven months after its inauguration by President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
In a brief ceremony at the Asaba end of the bridge, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi commended President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari for providing the needed support which facilitated the completion of the project.
He assured that the present government in the country would deliver more projects for the Southeast zone while commending Julius Berger for delivering the project.
Umahi however noted that the bridge would be tolled when completed.
He also stated that the project is open for concession to any private company that will be ready to complete all the ancillary roads.
"This will ensure that road users do not have to go through Asaba town where they will encounter traffic before accessing the bridge.
"We agreed that they will deploy solar systems to tackle the power issue. This is to ensure constant light. This will also improve security on the road," the Minister further explained.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the Company, Lars Richter applauded the federal government for finding his company to carry out the project.
"We are very pleased to hand over this project today to the client which is the federal government," Richter.
Also, the Director of Bridge Design and Construction, Obioha Bidi commended the federal government for working assiduously until the project was completed.
"We do hope that the public will complement the government for the bogus expenditure, by abiding by the rules of the road and people should help to ensure the facilities are already restored and those restored are kept saved," Obioha added.
