Work is in progress at the N3 billion rehabilitation works at the Lower Anambra Irrigation project.The project is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda support Programme of the Federal Government.The projects include a rehabilitation of the pumping station and irrigation channel at Ifite Ogwari awarded to Raycon Construction Company at the cost of N1.8 billion.
It also includes the construction of 7.8km and 11.5km roads into the project awarded to Heribron Construction Company and Raycon Construction Company at the cost of N1.2 billion.Inspecting the progress of works at the sites, the Technical Team of Ministry of Agriculture led by the Commissioned for Agriculture, Mr Nnamdi Onukwuba expressed satisfaction at the pace of work.
He urged the contractors handling the projects to expedite action in order to deliver works on schedule.Mr Onukwuba added that Anambra State was benefitting because Gov. Willie Obiano met with payment of counterpart funding that enabled the state to benefit from the programme.
He added that the state Ministry of Agriculture would ensure proper monitoring of the jobs to achieve its objective.This is one of the legacy projects that will guarantee agricultural development and enable the state to achieve its target in rice production,’’ Mr Onukwuba said.
In his comments, the Zonal Project Coordinator of ATASP, Mr Romania Egba, explained that the contractors had shown enough commitment since the award of the contract.He stressed that 40 per cent completion had been achieved at some of the sites within a short period.In their comments, the site Engineers of Heribron Construction and Raycon, Messrs Moses Adelabu and Kayode Olusegun promised to deliver on schedule.
They pointed out that they would redouble efforts to cover delays encountered during the lockdown as a result of the global Coronavirus pandemic.Among the inspection team include the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Stephanie Keri Uzo, Special Assistant to the Governor, Chief Nwobu, Director of Planning, Mr Ekene Adokwe and other senior staff from Ministry of Agriculture.
