Minister of Works, David Umahi, has defended the cost of the ongoing Mararaba-Keffi road project, emphasising that costs per kilometre cannot be generalised due to differences in construction methodologies and materials used.
Umahi accompanied by Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, said this during the inspection tour of the Mararaba–Keffi dual carriageway in Nasarawa State on Saturday .
The road dualisation project, executed by China Harbour Engineering Company under the Tax Credit Scheme, aims to ease critical traffic congestion linking Abuja to Nasarawa State.
“On the controversy about cost per kilometre, this project is about 43 kilometre but we have increased it to utilise the money given for the project by the last administration which was N73 billion.
“Cost per kilometre depends on material type — whether asphalt, surface dressing, or concrete. It is wrong to generalise.”
Umahi said that the estimated cost per kilometre included contingency and variation of price (VOP), which may not even be used.
He explained that the true average cost could only be determined after completion.
The minister said that the project was increased to about 45 kilometres and the cost was bound to change depending on what would be done on the road.
“If we are doing surface tracing on the shoulder, the cost will be different, if we are using asphalt on the shoulder, the cost will be different and if we are using concrete as we are using, the cost will be different.
“So, it is being mischievous when you ask for the cost of a length of road but by the professorial information, you can ask for cost per kilometer which could be estimated, could be divided to sections.
“When my brother and friend, Governor Seyi Makinde, said I was “dancing around figures,” I chose not to respond disrespectfully.
“He is an engineer, and I am also one, in fact, a senior in governance and engineering practice.”
Umahi urged him to withdraw the statement, adding that if he insisted on it, let him come for a debate.
“There is no ambiguity in cost computation. Estimated cost is provisional; average cost is definitive, that is what I explained”.
The Minister said that even Artificial Intelligence (AI) confirmed the same explanation.
“You can become a professor by practice, and by God’s Grace, I have earned that through experience in field engineering”, he said.
