The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed satisfaction with the quality and pace of work on the ongoing road construction in Kuje Area Council of the territory.

Mr Wike stated this after he inspected the road projects in Abuja on Wednesday.

The roads include the six-lane dual carriageway from Airport Expressway to Kuje Junction and the five-kilometre dual carriageway from Garage Junction to LEA Secretariat in Kuje.

The minister explained that the five-kilometre dual carriageway from Garage Junction to LEA Secretariat was nominated by the council’s chairman and stakeholders in the area.

He said that the contractor had done earthwork covering 2.5km, adding that what would follow was the drainage.

“The contractor has agreed that the road will be completed before the end of the year. We are very impressed.

“The one from the Airport Expressway to Kuje Junction is a six-lane dual carriageway, being handled by Arab Contractors.

“As you can see, the work is going on very well and we are quite satisfied with the quality of work so far.

“The contractor has promised to complete all the earthwork before the end of the year. This is very interesting news to us, indicating that we will reach our target by the end of the year,” Mr Wike said.

Earlier, Shehu Ahmad, executive secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority, said that the road linking the Airport Expressway to Kuje township would cover 11km.

Mr Ahmad explained that between the Airport Expressway and Kuje Junction, the road would cross over two rivers and also cross over the Outer Southern Expressway, which would link the city centre with the Gwagwalada Expressway.

He added that the Airport Expressway to Kuje Junction would cover nine kilometres, while the remaining two kilometres would extend backwards towards Kyami District.

He explained that one of the major constraints affecting the delivery of the road was the presence of five towers belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) along the road corridor.

The FCDA boss added that TCN has been contacted and has agreed to relocate the towers, stressing that until the obstructions are removed, work cannot take place in the affected areas.

The five-kilometre dual carriageway was among the six rural roads of 42.2km being constructed across the six Area Councils of the FCT by the current administration.

(NAN)