The Federal Government has withdrawn part of the Abuja-Kaduna highway rehabilitation contract from construction giant Julius Berger due to significant delays. The contract, originally awarded in 2018 during President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, has seen sluggish progress, particularly on the Abuja-Kaduna section, which has only reached 27% completion after six years.
Although the Kaduna-Zaria portion of the highway has been completed and the Zaria-Kano stretch is nearing completion, the Abuja-Kaduna segment has been lagging behind. During the inauguration of the highway's rehabilitation on Thursday, October 17, Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, criticized Julius Berger, accusing the company of "playing politics" with the project.
Umahi expressed frustration over the company's repeated demands for increased funding, noting that Julius Berger had initially requested N1.5 trillion to complete the project. “Despite ongoing negotiations, they delayed, asking for more funds, and yet progress remained slow,” Umahi said. He added that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N740 billion for the project after Julius Berger agreed to break the work into three sections. However, the company later demanded an additional increase to N903 billion.
The Minister rejected the latest demand, warning that agreeing to it would encourage other contractors to request similar hikes, pushing costs to an unsustainable level. “Our stance is firm—there will be no further increase beyond N740 billion,” he said, adding that the project would be handed over to other contractors if Julius Berger fails to proceed.
The Ministry of Works confirmed that the unfinished parts of the project will be re-awarded to Dangote and BUA Group. Dangote will handle a 38-kilometer section of the dual carriageway at a cost of N145 billion, with a completion timeline of 14 months.
Originally financed by the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), the project will now be funded under the Tax Credit Scheme.
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