Work is starting in Nigeria for a major upgrading project of the dual carriageway connecting the cities of Aba and Port Harcourt. Situated in the south east of the country, the road link provides an important connection both to and from Port Harcourt. In recent years the road has become extremely potholed, so much so that heavy trucks have switched to other routes instead. This is a major problem as Port Harcourt is one of Nigeria’s key industrial cities. The plans call for the reconstruction of the route, which will also be widened so that it will feature three lanes in either direction. Setraco Construction Company won the US$13.5 million contract for the work, which is expected to take 18 months to complete. The package of works includes carrying out a $17 million upgrade for the Port Harcourt to Enugu route. However it is not yet clear when an upgrade will be carried out on the Aba-Azumini route, which connects with Uyo and Calabar and provides a link from Port Harcourt to neighbouring Cameroun. In even worse condition is the Aba to Ikot Ekpene road link, which is said to be virtually impassable during the rainy season.
A contract worth $61.4 million has also been awarded for rebuilding of the expressway connecting Lagos with Abeokuta, with another worth $54.2 million for the Baban to Sharam road in Plateau State. Although a contract was originally awarded for the 81kmLagos to Abeokuta route back in 2000, construction work stalled due to a lack of sufficient funds.
