The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello is obviously angry with a contractor handling construction works on the Karshi/Ara/Apo roads, threatening to revoke the contract and re-award it to another contractor.
The Minister who received in audience, the Managing Director/CEO of Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited, Brigadier General Mahe Bashir, expressed sadness that work on that road has remained uncompleted against all expectations.
He said that his Administration is trying to see how it could salvage the challenges being faced by the current contractor even as he warned warned that if such challenges are not resolved quickly, he would be forced to look for alternative.
Muhammad Bello said: “with respect to Karshi/Ara/Apo road, quite frankly, I had thought that by now, we would have completed that road. But unfortunately, the contractor handling the project has been faced with a number of challenges, which we are trying to overcome to salvage that project. Ultimately, what will happen is that if we are not able to sort out the issues of the contractor, we may have to look at some other alternatives of making sure the road is completed.
“But you can be rest assured that that road is a priority for this Administration. We will try as much as possible to see that it is really completed as quickly as possible.”
The minister commended the intervention being made by the Army in area of providing housing facilities for its officers and men, saying that such interventions have brought a lot of benefits to both retired and serving members of the Army.
The Minister called on the Army Post-Service Housing Development Limited and other mass housing developers to ensure that all the housing schemes they are embarking upon adhere strictly to all the housing regulations in the FCT to make the process of individual title documentation and certification easier.
“It is very important also to ensure that all the estates are built based on approved plans from the relevant authorities and departments of the FCTA. We have had instances of organizations that go into projects without seeking the necessary approvals. Invariably, that tends to distort planning in the city and development control generally.”
Earlier, Brigadier General Bashir said that the organization is a commercial entity registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and is doing business of housing development for its officers and men as well as the general public. He said so far, 26 estates have been developed across the country.
He solicited for plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory to provide affordable houses, particularly for its officers and men presently fighting Bako Haram in the North East of the country. [myad]
