Julius Berger has been given a final seven days by Works Minister David Umahi to accept the Federal Government’s offer of N740.79 billion to complete the 82km segment II of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano motorway, failing which the contract would be terminated.

Frustrated by the drawn-out discussions, Umahi demanded that the project be finished in the upcoming seven days.

The ultimatum was given at the Ministry Headquarters in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Minister by Dr. Pier Lubasch, the new managing director of Julius Berger Plc, and Dr. Lars Richter, the departing managing director.

The visit was intended to present the new executive officer, according to a statement sent on Wednesday to the Honourable Minister of Works by the Special Adviser (Media).

This most recent event comes after Umahi threatened to cancel the contract, which was first given to Julius Berger in 2018 during the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Abuja-Kaduna stretch has only made 27% development in six years, but the Kaduna-Zaria part has been finished and the Zaria-Kano section is almost finished.

Julius Berger was accused by Umahi at an event last week of politicising the project in order to damage the reputation of the current administration.

Even though the Federal Executive Council had authorised the cash, Umahi expressed worry at the discussion about the delay in mobilising to the site.

He emphasised that road users are suffering greatly as a result of the delay, which also speaks poorly of the government.

“Let’s find others who can do it within a timeframe where we can control costs,” he said, if Berger is unable to. Berger has sent us more than 20 letters on this. Due to these delays, the price has increased from N710 billion to N740 billion, and the Ministry of Works may face difficulties if this trend continues.

Given the country’s present economic difficulties, Umahi voiced dissatisfaction that Julius Berger, a business that has long benefitted from government assistance, is not being realistic with its contract pricing.

He warned that the contract would be terminated if the contractor did not comply and advised them to accept or reject the updated contract value within seven days. He went on to say that the government would not be kept captive by contractors who demanded exorbitant prices and extra expenses.

“There are no conditions attached to this offer,” he stated. “It’s time to wrap up the conversation if the discussions have continued for 14 months without a conclusion. A businessman is aware that talks must come to an end.

Since site abandonment has already resulted in the termination of some Berger projects, we must take action because Nigerians are suffering and blaming the President. We can’t allow this to go on.

The former governor of Ebonyi emphasised that in order to assist the road infrastructure revolution that is crucial to Nigeria’s economic development, construction companies collaborating with the Ministry must be ready to provide value for money and reasonable pricing.

The newly appointed Managing Director of Julius Berger responded by pledging to address the concerns brought up and expressing the hope that they would be resolved quickly to prevent more delays.

The visit’s main objective, according to the departing Managing Director, was to present the Minister to the incoming Managing Director.