On Thursday, the Federal Ministry of Works clarified that it has no intention of implementing concrete pavements for all roads across the country.
The Director of Federal Highways, Adedamola Kuti, provided this clarification during a public hearing organized by the joint House of Representatives Committee on Works, Environment, Finance, Justice, and Science and Technology, specifically addressing the adoption of concrete technology in road construction in Nigeria.
The Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi, had previously announced the planned adoption of concrete (cement) technology for road construction, sparking reactions from stakeholders and prompting the public hearing.
Kuti emphasized that the choice between rigid or concrete pavement (cement) and flexible pavement (asphalt) would be determined by factors such as the terrain of the road and other relevant considerations. He further explained that the federal government’s decision to embrace concrete technology in road construction was made in the overall interest of the country.
He said, “We have been doing flexible pavements; the stand of the Federal Ministry of Works is not that all ongoing projects must revert to rigid pavements. For you to decide whether it will be rigid or flexible pavement, it all depends on the terrain. But something significant has been happening recently.
“Because of the problems Nigeria has been facing as a nation, most of our projects are being augmented from time to time, especially because of the rising cost of materials, and the ministry looked at it that there was a need to look at how some of these issues would be tackled and lower the pressure on foreign exchange.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, while declaring the hearing open, decried the poor condition of some major roads across the country.
