Mr Biodun Oyebanji’s government in Ekiti State has disclosed its readiness to begin massive construction of roads across the 16 local governments under the World Bank Assisted projects Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Projects (RAAMP).
The state RAAMP Coordinator, Mr. Sunday Adunmo, made this known in Ado-Ekiti at a one-day sensitisation training organised for the workers of the Project.
He said construction would begin on some of the rural roads in the state next month, noting that Ekiti was officially added to the participating states last year August after meeting the conditions for the project.
The RAAMP boss said the engineering designs for 12 roads totaling 77km roads had been received and would be launched by the end of October for construction work to begin.
He added that RAAMP had last weekend opened tenders for consultancy services for the design and supervision of spot improvement of 122km of rural roads as part of phase one, while rural road upgrading would be advertised next year.
World Bank
The state project coordinator, who said the Project office was not unaware of the transportation challenges being faced by farmers in the state, noted that rural communities would soon become sites for massive road construction.
He said the delay in the commencement of the project was as a result of the need to adhere to the procedures of the donor partner, the World Bank, whose commitment to due process and transparency was irrevocable.
“Permit me to use this medium to inform you that construction work will soon start on some of our road projects. I am aware that Ekiti people have waited for the commencement of the project since 2018 when former Governor Kayode Fayemi indicated the interest of Ekiti State to participate in the project. The delay is not unconnected to the fact that we must follow the necessary procedures for construction works to begin. I am happy that last week, Ekiti RAAMP had an opening of tenders from bidders for consultancy services for design and supervision of spot improvement in the state. About three months ago, we did a similar opening for consultancy services for design and supervision of backlog maintenance and negotiation and award are ongoing.
“Soon, we shall advertise for construction. In a couple of weeks, Ekiti State will become a site for massive construction works on our rural roads. We are not oblivious of the challenges being faced by farmers particular in this rainy season, which has made it very hard for them to transport their farm produce from the farm to the market. I can assure people that very soon, we will provide accessible road for all farms across the state,” Adunmo said.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
