Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo has reiterated the commitment of his administration to infrastructure development across the state.
Makinde said this on Thursday in Oyo town while flagging off the 34.85 km Oyo-Iseyin Road.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the road project awarded to Kopek Construction Company in June, at the initial cost of N8.4 billion, was later in November increased to N9.9 billion due to additional scope of works.
NAN reports that Oyo State Government explained that the augmentation of the road project was to meet the Federal Government road specifications.
Makinde, while flagging off the road at Ojogbondu in Oyo town, said his administration would continue to build viable road networks for the state.
He explained that his government decided to reconstruct the road in spite of being a federal road, because of the road’s strategic position in the administration’s economic expansion agenda.
According to him, the road, when completed, will become a vital link between the farming communities of Oke-Ogun and Oyo axis.
Makinde added that it would provide the much-needed market linkage between the zones.
He said the project would be carried out through the Alternate Project Funding Approach (APFA), “this mean that the contractor funds the project, and we pay back over an agreed period of time.”
He said that the APFA model being employed by his government to fund projects had made it possible for his administration to reduce infrastructure deficit.
Gov. Douye Diri of BayeIsa State, who witnessed the ceremony, commended his Oyo State counterpart, Makinde, for embarking on developmental projects.
Diri said: “When my brother colleague requested that I join him today to flag off this all important road, I tried to find out why.
“I discovered that this road means so much to the people of Oyo and the people of Iseyin.
“And when I went and probe further, I realised that this road has so much of economic value for as much as geographic value.
“Let me salute my friend and brother, the one you fondly call GSM for his vision and commitment to serve his people diligently.”
Earlier, the Commissioner for Public Works, Infrastructure and Transport, Prof. Dahud Sangodoyin, emphasised that works to be executed on the Oyo-Iseyin Road were in accordance with federal highways specification.
Sangodoyin said the project completion period was 12 months and expressed optimism that the contractor would deliver the project as agreed.
NAN reports that governor Makinde also flagged off the dualisation of the Ibadan Airport road and some link roads.
The projects was awarded to Kopek Construction Company, at a cost of N4.9 billion.
The governor at the occasion pleaded with the people of Oyo State that all inner roads in the state would be fixed.
He said that the State Ministry of Works in collaboration with the local government authorities had begun to see how some of the roads could be fixed.
He said the Airport road project would be completed within six months and that the road would be named after the former governor of the state, Chief Omololu Olunloyo, when completed. (NAN)
