Kaduna State Commissioner of Public Works and Infrastructure, Arc. Ibrahim Hamza, has announced that Governor Uba Sani’s administration has awarded 78 road projects spanning 775 kilometers in the past 21 months, despite prevailing challenges in the state.
He disclosed that 21 of these roads have been completed and are now in use, boosting economic activities across the state’s 23 local government areas.
The commissioner highlighted key challenges inherited by the administration, including unpaid contractor liabilities, over-invoicing, lack of proper documentation in road construction, and low capacity utilization in the water sector.
Speaking at the Quarterly Ministerial Press Briefing at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, he assured that Governor Sani has made significant progress in addressing these issues.
“Last week, we also launched the completion of the Kaduna Bridge from Kabala Costain to Aliyu Makama Road, which will ease congestion on the major Ahmadu Bello Way-Junction Road corridor,” he stated.
Arc. Hamza criticized the Urban Renewal Programme of the previous administration, noting that it suffered from financial mismanagement.
“Some contractors received payments sufficient to complete their projects, yet they left them unfinished and submitted outrageous claims,” he said.
He added that some of these claims could fund new road projects, even after contractors had already been paid for work done.
“We have largely overcome the challenges we inherited, including contractor liabilities, vandalization, and lack of proper documentation. Some contracts were awarded without proper records, while others were highly inflated,” he stated.
