The minister of works, David Umahi, has said that the new design of the Onitsha axis of the second Niger bridge has saved the nation up to N300 billion.

Mr Umahi disclosed this in Asaba, Delta, when he led the management of the ministry on an inspection tour of the bypass to the bridge down to Onitsha.

A statement on the tour issued by Orji Orji, the minister’s special adviser on media, was made available to journalists on Monday in Abuja.

According to Mr Orji, the minister said, “We saw that the design was defective and we agreed on a new kind of design.

“That was how we saved the country over N300 billion by that singular movement to that location.”

Mr Orji said other projects visited by the minister included the upgrading of the 15-km section of the East-West Road Section III, Port Harcourt-Eleme Junction to Onne Junction in Rivers, being handled by RCC.

He said the minister also inspected the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway section 3 under rehabilitation, the Enugu-Lokpanta being handled by CGC and the rehabilitation work at the collapsed bridge site at the New Artisan Bridge, near Enugu State.

He said the minister expressed satisfaction with the jobs being done and charged contractors to step up their pace to cover a milestone ahead of the rainy season.

Mr Orji said the minister disclosed that the federal government was upgrading the 15-kilometre road between Eleme Flyover and Onne Junction and starting with excavation to fill all the failed sections to make them stable.

According to him, the minister expressed the federal government’s commitment to building enduring road infrastructure at the lowest possible cost.

He urged the contractors to always consider the sufferings of the road users as they set up their work plans.

Mr Umahi also urged them to ensure that the roads under construction were made passable for commuters during the rainy season.

(NAN)