PH road represents our determination to rebuild Aba – Otti

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia 

Photo: Governor  Alex Otti addressing the crows during the flag off of the reconstruction of Port Harcourt road, Aba

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, has flagged off the reconstruction of the dilapidated and abandoned 6.7 kilometre Port Harcourt Road, Aba, saying that the project signposts his administration’s determination to rebuild and open up the city to greater economic opportunities.

Performing the flag off ceremony on Thursday, October 12, 2023, Otti said it was part of plans by his administration to rebuild the budding commercial city to make it an investors delight and a hub for booming economic activities.

Port Harcourt Road was constructed by the first civilian Governor of Old Imo State, late Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe.

It was meant to feed into the expansion of the booming oil industrial complex in Port Harcourt.

As noted by Governor Otti, Mbakwe’s  vision gained a foothold almost immediately as Port Harcourt road became a major hub for the servicing of heavy-duty vehicles, equipment, spare parts, power generating sets and ancillary tools.  “In no time, this axis emerged as one of the busiest parts of Aba and a go-to destination for maintenance engineers, procurement officers and contractors working for the multinationals in Port Harcourt and environs, bringing immediate prosperity and a host of other economic and social advantages to the city of Aba,” the Governor narrated.  

“For about two decades, it was all bliss and blush for businesses around this area until things began to fell apart in the mid to late 1990s, followed quickly by the unfortunate collapse and abandonment of the 2000s,” he recalled.

This led to businesses, including those that had their corporate headquarters along Port Harcourt road relocating to more favourable environments as it became clear that succeeding administrations in Abia did not have the will to make the right commitments to restore the road and sustain its economic advantages.

“I’m glad that we are taking yet another strategic step in fulfilling one of my major campaign promises which is to permanently break the jinx of Port Harcourt Road, Aba, and revive the long-abandoned economic activities along this corridor, activities that once gave Aba a set of peculiar advantages, starting from the early 1980s when our revered leader, Dee Sam Mbakwe, Governor of Old Imo State, constructed this road,” Governor Otti declared. 

Recall that Otti, had shortly after being declared winner of the Abia governorship contest, carried out an inspection of the road which was sign that he would tackle the road headlong.

“Perhaps I should go on and announce that I am partly fulfilled that we have reached another milestone in what had been a very long process which started immediately after my victory was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the 22nd of March 2023. 

“Recall that on 27th of April this year, I led representatives of Julius Berger on an inspection tour of this very road to get a general overview of the scope of work to be done and other fundamental details that would guide the technical designs and specifications,” he said.  

Apart from Julius Berger, the Governor revealed that his government also had to invite other construction companies to bid for the contract to rebuild Port Harcourt road because, he said, “we were careful not to repeat the errors and misjudgements of the past for which the state wasted billions of taxpayers’ money without any measurable improvements in the condition of the road for more than 20 years.”

“For us, it is either we reconstruct Port Harcourt Road and do it well or we don’t do it at all. Remember that during my several stops in this great city during the electioneering campaigns, I made one thing very clear: we shall only go for the best because you deserve no less,” he further said. 

Explaining the choice of Julius Berger to do to execute the reconstruction of Port Harcourt road, the Governor said: “With the above covenant in mind, we resisted the temptation to start another trial and error on a road as important as this and decided to accept the engineering design and bid presented to us by possibly the most reputable civil engineering company in Nigeria with more than 50 years of operational experience and several landmark projects in all parts of the country to its name, Julius Berger Plc. 

“For us, Port Harcourt Road Aba is not just any other project, it will be a testament of our willingness and determination to ‘rebuild ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated’as contained in Isaiah 61: 4.”

Emphasising that Julius Berger was brought to do quality and durable job, Otti said: “For the purpose of clarity, we are not just talking about pouring asphalt or doing any haphazard job just for cheap political capital. We have brought Julius Berger here for some well-defined reasons: to do a holistic job of fixing the road, addressing the age-long flooding problems especially at notoriously problematic points using appropriate technology and expertise; and ultimately see to it that with very minimal maintenance at regular intervals, this road shall continue to support the existing, new and returning businesses and their activities for at the very least, another twenty years, post-commissioning.”

To achieve its objective, the Governor said government kept a tab on Julius Berger.

“My team members and I, including the state Commissioner for Works and many senior engineering staff of the ministry, worked closely with the team from Julius Berger to ensure that the technical design and specifications adopted answered all the important questions regarding durability, reliability, flood control and other critical parameters. 

“It is our expectation that on completion, the reconstructed Port Harcourt Road will drive the economic rejuvenation of this resilient city and send a clear message to the businesses that had left that the Elephant is back on its feet, never to stumble again.” 

He said that the flag off exercise was a definite confirmation that “Aba’s days of glory are about to be restored,” adding that when the right structures are in place, investors would come on their own because “in the next 12 months, the economic prospects and opportunities in Aba will be too attractive for any serious investor to ignore.”

The Governor who was cheered on by teeming Aba residents who thronged the venu of the flagg off exercise promised them greater services.

“We shall spend the next twelve to eighteen months working to reset the fundamentals by making sure all the economically significant roads in this city are in good condition, re-organise the waste management system for enhanced efficiency and see to it that the basic facilities investors and residents look out for are in place. 

“You will see more activities, not just on roads but on the broad spectrum of social infrastructure, including modernisation of the markets and commercial passenger and cargo transport hubs, effective urban water supply system, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, skills acquisition centres, ICT hubs and so much more.  “I have set up an executive committee to create a database of all the strategic public and private business concerns that once thrived in this city but are now moribund. We are developing an appropriate template to revive and bring them back to life, subject to economic fundamentals. On my watch, Aba shall witness the kind of economic revival that is very difficult to come by in this part of the world,” Otti pledged.

“Our present commitment to creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive through unprecedented investments in infrastructure is principally aimed at driving job creation and poverty elimination which are very critical to our general development agenda,” he added.

The Governor appealed to Aba residents to cooperate with the contractor to enable it to deliver the project within the agreed 18 months for its completion, and also appealed to them to always pay their taxes promptly for government toeet its finance obligations.

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, Dr Lars Richter, promised that the company would deliver the project according to specifications, describing the project as another milestone for the 4-month-old administration of Governor Alex Otti.

He commended Governor Otti for his commitment to the infrastructural revolution of the state and thanked him for making Julius Berger part of his rebuilding agenda of the state.