Oyo State Government on Friday awarded the construction of 76.7km Iseyin-Fapote-Ogbomosho road for N43.1billion. The award was approved at the 14th State Executive Council meeting which was held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan and presided over by Governor Seyi Makinde.

The meeting which started around 3PM ended at about 6PM. Briefing the press after the meeting, the state commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Prof Dahud Sangodoyin said the project would be paid through direct payment by the government.

Accompanied at the briefing by his counterpart at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, Prof Sangodoyin said the project is to be delivered in 13 months.

He explained that the government would advance the payment of 30 percent of the project cost by next week when the contractors are mobilised to site while another 20 percent payment would be made in January.

Sangodoyin added that the government hope to have achieved at least 75 percent completion of the project before June/July next year when the dry season would be wrapping up.

He said “Today, at the 14th Meeting of the Executive Council of Oyo State, we approved the award of the construction of Iseyin-Fapote-Ogbomoso road, which is 76.7km.

“The road is split into two wonky because we want the road to be completed on time and also to have quality construction and ensure that it’s done within 13 months.

“For these two roads, we have two bridges, one each on the halves of the roads.

“The total value for the road is about N43.1bn. The first half is N20billion, while the other half is about N23.1billion. In total, it is N43.1billion.

“The commencement date is immediate as the government will give an advance payment of 30 percent to the contractor and in January 2022, we will also advance them another 20 percent so that they must have done almost 75 percent of the job before they request for any other payment from the government.

“Don’t forget, we are trying to work and expediate the project during this dry season so that before we get to June/July the substantial part of the work would have been conclude on the road.

“So, the first part of the road is awarded to Messrs Kopek Construction and the second part is awarded to Messrs Kremborg Construction limited. These two contractors will be mobilised as soon as award is made next week and they will hit the ground and start the job.”

Speaking on the funding on the project, Sangodoyin said “it is directly funded by the state government.

“The government, remember, had a supplementary budget sometimes in August for which we had a loan called the DCCI loan. We are utilising this DCCI facility for the project.”

He also seized the opportunity to talk on the various ongoing road projects across the state noting that the state government would not relent in its bid to bring improvement and better the life of the residents of the state.

He noted that the government is also working to ensure that no part of the state is neglected in terms of road development assuring that at least 95 percent of the ongoing projects would be completed by the end of 2022.