Apo-Karshi Road: Hope rises as contractor returns to site

Barely two weeks after The AUTHORITY highlighted the need for the completion of the Apo- Karshi Road, the contractor handling the project, Kakatar CE Limited, has returned to site.
Kakatar’s return, The AUTHORITY gathered, came on the heels of the intervention of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Ad¬ministration (FCTA), Alhaji Mohammed Bello.

Shortly after the 2015 general elections, all the companies handling construction projects in the FCT pulled out on account of the over N110 billion the administra¬tion owed them.

FCT’s indebtedness to Kakatar on the Apo-Karshi Road stood at over N4 billion, prompting the company to pull out of the site.
However, a visit to the site yesterday by The AUTHORITY, revealed that the company had returned to site, a few weeks after the FCT Minister made an on-the-spot assessment of the project.
An official of the FCTA told The AUTHORITY that Kakatar’s return, which he said was the first by any company in the nation’s capital, came on the heels of the minister’s promise to fund the project in order to decongest the Nyanya-Abuja Highway.

It was observed that the hill before Wasa Village is still there, posing a major challenge to motorists and residents already using the road, especially motorcycle riders.

A staff member of the contracting firm told the AUTHORITY that with the settlement of the outstanding issues with villages along the route, the company was able to resume work.
He said that equipment are on ground to bring down the hill which is before Wasa Village, adding that with constant release of funds, the project may be completed before the end of the year.

Hon. Odeh Jackson, a councillorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for Karshi Ward in the forthcoming local government elections in the FCT, while commending the authorities for the resumption of work on the road, urged early release of funds, saying opening the road is long overdue.

“If the road is completed, it will save commuters a lot of stress. Why will it take the government this time to complete an important project like this?
An official of the Satellite Town Development Agency (STDA), speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Minister is very much interested in the early completion of the project. The director of the agency was not willing to speak on the issue when The AUTHORITY made attempts to reach him.