Community, Peace Committee Members Favour Julius Berger To Complete Bodo-Bonny Road Project

Senator Dave Umahi, Minister of Works, and Dr. Lars Richter, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, have both committed to completing the critical Bodo-Bonny Road, project by the end of the year.

This is coming just as the minister suggested an additional N20 billion augmentation fee to the contractor to cushion the effects of current economic realities in the country.

Speaking at the meeting, Umahi, who believed there was no need for augmentation, hoped that the additional N20 billion he announced there and then would alleviate the contractor’s burden on the project.

The Minister reminded the stakeholders of the importance of the project to both the surrounding communities and the country, adding that when completed it will enhance development even as he gave the assurance to Bonny kingdom that the project will be completed by the end of 2024.

During his presentation, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr. Dr. Lars Richter drew the attention of the Minister to the time lag when the contract was awarded in 2014 when the exchange rate was N305 to a dollar, adding that the cost of relevant construction materials have since risen by over 1000%.  Richter requested a contract modification, claiming that it is now necessary due to the country’s declining Naira value and rising construction material costs.

He said, I thank you all for coming and for giving me this opportunity to share more light on the project. Allow me to give you some insight from us on this project. This project was initiated in 2013 and today we are talking of 2024, which means the project is more than 11 years old. In 2014, we received the letter of award and the project couldn’t commerce. Then in 2017/2018, the NLNG stepped in with the infrastructure tax credit scheme for modalities in funding the project.

Lars said the company asked for the augmentation because as at the time the contract was drafted it was based on the exchange rate of N305. “And last year there were some developments in the economy which result to a huge change in prices of construction materials, diesel, among others. When we signed this project, we were talking of N142 per Liter for diesel. But today we are buying diesel for N1500/N1600 per Liter. In 2013 the price of bitumen is far cheaper than today that we buy the bitumen for N1.2 million.”

Contrary to media reports and details of the meeting that went viral Thursday, insiders confirmed that the augmentation fee requested by Julius Berger is N80bn and not N28bn as in the quote from the ministry which says the company requested only that amount.

According to BusinessDay newspaper in its report, “David Umahi, the minister of works disclosed this during a meeting with contractors and the peace committee on the project from Bonny Kingdom, in Abuja on Wednesday. He stated that the government does not have the funds to meet the contractor’s (Julius Berger) request of N28 billion.

One stakeholder commented that there is an urgent need to clarify how much the augmentation fee is. He inquired as to whether the amount was N80 billion or N28 billion.

The stakeholder who promised to formally disclose the facts and fictions of the media reports on the meeting stated that the facts stated by Dr. Lars Richter in his speech at the event included the following: the original contract sum was N199 billion. In August 2023, the company requested N289 billion in additional funding. By March 2024, a discount of approximately N10 billion had been applied, bringing the total down to N279 billion.

The representatives of the Community and Peace Committee who attended the meeting were very supportive of Julius Berger completing the contract and praised the company for its progress, community engagement, and social responsibility, among other things, since the inception of the Bonny NLNG plant and the subsequent start of the road project.

Chief Abel Attoni, the leader of the Peace Committee delegates, expressed gratitude for the decision to complete the Bodo-Bonny Road project while also urging the parties to be patriotic and make the necessary sacrifices to see the project through.

One of them, King Jasper Jumbo, did not mince words when he stated that Julius Berger was once my greatest enemy, but with all of their involvement since the Bodo-Bonny road project began, I have grown to admire them and their dedication to the cause. The federal government should ensure that Julius Berger completes the road. And I want to see the road delivered in my life time.

Surprisingly too, the Bodo-Bonny Road project as at March, 2024 is only 65% completed as against the 80% being touted by ministry officials as stated by Dr. Lars Richter and confirmed by the committee constituted by Minister of Works within the Federal Ministry of Works including external Consultants, PEARL & NLNG

The 39 km long road is the first road link between Bonny Island to the rest of Rivers State. The road has cross culverts and two mini bridges with a span of 23m each as well as two creek bridges, Afa Creek Bridge of about 530m length and Nanabie Creek Bridge of about 640m length, in addition to the construction of a major river bridge of about 750m length over the Opobo Channel.