We’ll sustain tempo of road infrastructure in Delta – Okowa

TRACKING___Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state on Thursday, restated the importance of roads connectivity to economic development of the state, saying in spite of prevailing coronavirus pandemic, governance and infrastructural development of the state would be sustained.

The governor made this known while speaking to newsmen shortly after inspecting the Alihami-Agbor-Nta-Oki Road in Ika South Local Government Area, Owanta Erosion Control and road project and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Training School, Owa-Oyibu in Ika North East Local Government Area.

He said that connecting the state with roads and bridges would ensure economic growth of communities and assured Deltans of his administration’s commitment to executing projects that would impact on the people.

Okowa, who was conducted round the projects by the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Chris Onogba and his Housing counterpart, Chief Festus Ochonogor, said “we will continue to execute programmes and projects that will make our people to be prosperous.

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“In spite of the COVID-19 and the slowdown of so many things we are doing as a state, there was the need to go down and check the things that we intend to continue in the next few weeks.

“I first visited the Alihami-Agbor-Nta-Oki Road; it was a surprise visit and the contractor himself was not on site, but the workers were on site and it afforded me the opportunity to have first-hand knowledge of level of work being done; a lot of drainage work has been done and some sections of the road have been stone-based.

“That road is very important because when it is completed to Edo state junction, it means that those going to Jesse, Oghara and Sapele axis will have a much faster route and that is very good for us, and our people because it connects Delta state with a section of villages that are actually in Edo state, and then to the Jesse end.

“The road inter-connectivity is good for commerce and economic development of the benefiting communities, and we will continue to construct as many roads as our finances can enable us,” he said.

On the Owanta gully erosion and road project, the governor said that before now, the place was terrible as several homes had been lost to the erosion, but expressed optimism that with the work being done now, several homes had been saved.

“It’s actually a project of Delta state with the World Bank. This is one of the five sites in Delta state and the contractor, Levante Construction, is doing well. We are happy with the work being done and he has assured us that even through the rain, they will continue working to ensure that a lot of homes are saved.

“We are in the process of awarding contracts for other erosion control projects in the state,’’ he said.

He said the FRSC training school was a collaborative project between the state and the agency.

“It is a partnership between the state and the Federal Road Safety Corps because we believe that the school will have an impact on the economy of this area.

“We are providing the buildings; they will provide other needed infrastructure and provide the staffing to enable the school take -off.

“Right from the lockdown, we allowed some contractors to return to site with strict adherence to the NCDC protocols and that was why we allowed the erosion control project to continue,’’ the governor said.