FG To Pull Down 60-Metre Hill As Work On Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe Road Progresses.

Magnus Aluma
The Federal Government has said that efforts are in top gear to collapse the 60-metre-high hill on a section of the Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe Federal Highway currently under construction.
The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, disclosed this at the weekend during an inspection tour of the 65-kilometre Afikpo-Uturu-Okigwe Federal Highway project.
Umahi said the project is being executed under the Federal Government’s tax-credit scheme and sponsored by Dangote Industries Ltd, with Hi-Tech, a Construction firm as contractor.
According to the minister, “the mountainous terrain of this part of the road had constituted a major safety challenge for road users and was responsible for several fatal accidents along the corridor.
“This mountain, by the command of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must collapse for the people of the southeast.
Umahi observed that the area is one of the most technically demanding portions of the project, noting that its successful removal would represent a major infrastructure breakthrough as it would reduce the frequent loss of lives on the route.
Continuing, he said, “this place is very challenging. We have a mountain that is over 60 metres high. If God helps us in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieve this, this will be a major lives saver for the people of South-East, because this place has taken many lives.
The Minister commended the contractor for the quality of construction, pointing out that the concrete pavement being used for the construction was superior to what was obtainable on some other federal government highway projects.
He maintained that the intervention of President Tinubu’s administration in the southeast should be assessed from the standpoint of tangible infrastructure delivery and economic impact, rather than political sentiments.
The project controller, Engr. Maxwell Oko, had earlier said the Highway F112 project comprised 9.9 kilometres of dual carriageway and 55.55 kilometres of single carriageway.
Oko explained that the road was being delivered under the tax-credit arrangement, with Dangote Industries Ltd as the sponsoring company, while Hi-Tech Construction is the contractor.
He also said the highway constitutes a major route that links communities and adjoining Federal Highway across Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states, with significant implications for transportation, trade, and regional integration.
The Managing Director of Hi-Tech Construction, Christopher Aucamp, said the contractor had commenced preparatory operations at the hilly section of the project, in readiness for intensive excavation and earthworks.
“This is the mountain where we have to do the realization of the 9. kilometres. As you can see, we are busy on it,” he said.
Aucamp disclosed that three excavators would be deployed to the section to accelerate the excavation and reshaping of the difficult terrain.