There are indications that Borini Prono, the contractor handling the construction of the Apapa Trailer Park along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway will complete the park and beat the two-week deadline given to it by the new Presidential Taskforce on Apapa gridlock.
When BusinessDay visited the project site Thursday afternoon, it was observed that work was really in progress on the major infrastructure facilities that have been delaying the completion and opening of the park for use by trucks.
Drilling of two boreholes was on-going; work was also upbeat on the shoreline protection which is about 60 percent completed, while a good number of workers were seen working on the multi-room toilet facilities.
“We are making progress and, hopefully, by next week Saturday, this place will be ready for use; the ministry of work is under pressure to deliver the park and they are calling us every now and then to ensure we beat the deadline,” a Borini Prono official, who did not want his name mentioned, told our reporter at the project site.
Asked if the electricity issue too would be fixed before next week, the official said they were working on it, stressing that the entire park would be ready before the expiration of the two weeks deadline given to the ministry of works to complete and deliver the park.
The Trailer Park which is considered a strategic solution to the Apapa gridlock has been under construction since 2010 when its contract was awarded to the Italian construction giant by former President Goodluck Jonathan administration. It is today one of the oldest project sites in Nigeria.
Kayode Opeifa, vice chairman of the new presidential taskforce for the decongestion of Apapa which had 72-hour ultimatum to rid Apapa roads and bridges of trailers and tankers, assured Nigerians last week Friday that the park would be ready in two weeks time.
The federal ministry of works and the contractor have, in the last couple of months, delayed and deferred the completion and opening of the park to the frustration and indignation of motorists, Apapa residents and business owners in the port city who have been made to believe that the opening of that park would significantly reduce the gridlock on their roads and bridges.
The park, on completion, is expected to take away about 400 trucks out of the road, hopefully, reducing the gridlock that has refused to leave the port city despite the presidential taskforce and ultimatum.
Bode Karunwi, vice chairman, Apapa GRA Residents Association, in a telephone interview with BusinessDay Thursday morning, wondered why the gridlock had persisted. “Is the presidential order not meant to be obeyed; why are the trucks still on the road?” he wondered.
Karunwi is not satisfied with the explanation by the taskforce that the trucks have been confined to one lane ans sometimes two lanes on the bridges. “The bridge is not a motor park; if LASTMA can impound my car if I park wrongly on the road, why are the trucks still on the bridges? Parking on one lane and sometimes on two lanes is not acceptable to us. They should leave the bridges completely.” he emphasized.
CHUKA UROKO
