Minister of Works, Dave Umahi
The Federal Minister of Works, Mr. Dave Umahi has clarified that the Federal Government never banned the use of asphalt in road construction.
This was contained in a press statement released by the Ministry of Works on Monday and can be seen on the official website of the ministry.
Umahi further stated that at no time did the Ministry of Works direct that only concrete pavement be used in the development of road projects nationwide.
The minister, however, explained that the Federal Ministry of Works had put in place a new policy that provides guidelines on the use of concrete and asphalt pavements in road construction projects nationwide.
According to the new policy, contractors for all ongoing projects are simply requested to have a choice to continue to use asphalt or have their projects redesigned on concrete at no extra cost to the government. However, some conditions must be met. They include:
Use of asphalt: contractors shall stick to only a 5% Variation on Price (VOP) in line with the signed contract agreement throughout the project and the signed contract shall not be subject to review, especially on bituminous items.
The thickness of the asphalt pavement as designed must be strictly adhered to by all such contractors and the design shelf life for the asphalt (at least 15 years) shall be guaranteed by issuing an insurance bond through a reputable insurance company in favor of the Federal Government.
For the use of concrete, contractors must abide by the 5% VOP, and 50-year design shelf life using concrete grade 40.
Umahi further revealed that most of the road construction projects across the country are still ongoing with asphalt pavement in line with this new policy while some are redesigned on concrete pavement, depending on the terrain and with full understanding of the affected contractors of those projects.