The Federal Government has terminated the contract awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the 43-kilometre Port Harcourt–Aba road over what it described as persistent poor performance and disregard for construction standards.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the decision on Sunday after inspecting the failed section of the road. He expressed disappointment that despite several warnings and huge sums already spent, the project continues to deteriorate.
Umahi revealed that the CCECC had repeatedly ignored directives from the ministry on the proper laying of asphalt and construction of road shoulders, resulting in the near collapse of the Aba-bound lane.
“This project was inherited by our administration, and since coming on board, we’ve done everything possible to ensure progress. But despite more than 20 warnings, the company’s work remains substandard,” the minister said.
He stated that the government has now decided to replace the Chinese company with a capable indigenous contractor to complete the job. Umahi further directed the ministry to issue a 14-day termination notice to CCECC and demanded that the firm mill out the defective binder layer it had already been paid for.
“If they fail to comply within the given time, I will order the shutdown of all their ongoing projects in Nigeria,” Umahi warned.
He also criticized the contractor’s negligence, saying it was unacceptable for a company handling more than 25 federal projects to deliver such poor results. Umahi insisted that the government would not allow any contractor to sabotage President Bola Tinubu’s infrastructure drive.
The minister vowed to publish all letters and warnings issued to CCECC for public transparency, emphasizing that the decision was made in the interest of accountability and road safety.
Leave a Reply