The House committee on Works, led by Hon. Akin Alabi hosted a joint committee public hearing on the use of concrete for road projects in Nigeria.
The hearing was well attended by representatives of the Ministry of Works, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Bitumen importers, Nigerian Building & Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Nigerian Society of Civil Engineers, Contractors and other stakeholders.
Chairman of the House Committee on works, Hon Akin Alabi declared in his opening remarks that the committee remains neutral and the hearing is for all stakeholders to provide their input on the issue, if it is necessary and cost effective to move to concrete roads from the more popular asphalt solution. Hon Alabi reiterated that the House will need this fact gathering exercise to appropriate funds to the Ministry in the upcoming budget defense process.
The House Whip, Hon Usman Bello Kumo represented the Speaker of the House at the committee, in the Speaker’s speech, he stated the importance of the public hearing in order to introduce transparency to the process and help the executive receive the required feedback from stakeholders and the public.
The Ministry of Works team led by Engineer Kuti made the first presentation explaining why the ministry opted to move to rigid pavement (concrete) as against the flexible pavement (bitumen/asphalt) on some major roads, he clarified that not all projects will move to concrete but he argued that concrete roads are cheaper to make and more durable in the long run, he also said that the fact that cement can be locally sourced will reduce pressure on foreign exchange.
The Nigerian Society of Engineers team was led by its ex President and Chairman of the board of trustees, Engineer Emeka Eze. In his speech he said the most important thing is the quality control, design, planning and procurement process rather than rigid/flexible pavements. He also stated that the House did not need to wade into the process as it is an executive decision.
The Committee chairman, Hon Akin Alabi then corrected Engineer Eze on the constitutional provision for the House to investigate all executive decisions that require the use of public funds.
Other Stakeholders also contributed to the debate, the Nigerian Building & Road Research Institute (NBRRI) representative stated that we have only 3% rigid pavement all over the world and Asphalt is the most popular choice for governments and contractors even in countries that are under water. He said that Germany had this debate 50 years ago and ended up choosing flexible pavement and we should focus on research on soil type and geographical differences across the country instead.
Gradient Bitumen, a Major importer of Bitumen into Nigeria made a presentation that the bitumen they import are of the highest standards and are certified per global requirements, they added that they do not want to delve into the debate but to clearly state that the standard of the bitumen in use in the Country.
The Founder of Greenville LNG is making his submission stated that Concrete roads is double the cost of Asphalt roads, and anyone that says otherwise is lying, he added that some contractors do not have the equipment or technical know how to switch to concrete overnight and the financial cost of rigid pavement will be too much for Nigeria in the middle of a fiscal crisis. In his opinion it’s important to fund ongoing projects instead of pipe dreams.
Hon Alabi in his concluding comments said that what he has gotten from the hearing is that quality assurance, procurement process, funding, technical know how and design is more important than rigid or flexible. He said during their tour of ongoing projects they saw bad asphalt roads and also cement roads that are already failing in the middle of construction, there are also good asphalt roads and good concrete projects. He concluded that the committee will present a report from the public hearing to the house for a resolution to be made.