The Commissioner for Environment, Abia State, Barr. Tony Nwamuo, has charged the contractor handling the ongoing flood mitigation measures in Aba to expedite action in order to reduce the issues of flood menace in the area.
The Commissioner stated this when he inspected the pace of work at the ongoing project on the flood mitigation measures at Uratta and Obohia plains in the Aba municipality and contigent road construction at Obohia, Ngwa road, Ohanku and Umuagbai roads in Aba by the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP).
He maintained that the project was among the cardinal areas of the Ikpeazu administration whom he said was committed to reducing the hardship being faced by the residents of the area as a result of perennial flooding in the area while reiterating the efforts of the state government in ensuring that the city is given a facelift through the payment of counterpart funding.
Barr. Nwamuo while explaining the significance of the project to the state government, urged the contractor handlinfg the project (HARTLAND NBBH) and the project office of NEWMAP in the state to work in tandem with the specifications of the project.
He appealed to them to extend the project to the extreme end of the Obohia road as well as to encourage local content in order to curb youth restiveness.
Conducting the Commissioner round the project sites, the Project Coordinator, NEWMAP Abia State, Engr. Izuchukwu Onwughara, said necessary arrangements have been put in place for the take off of the project while assuring that the contractor handling the project has been fully mobilized to carry out quality and professional job on the project.
He further stated that the first phase of the project which is flood mitigation is to see that water is evacuated from the Ifeobara pond and Port Harcourt road through the construction of an underground tunnel and box culverts through the Crystal Park road to the Umuagbai pond and to terminate at the Aba river, while the second phase of the project will be road construction will commence at the Ngwa road axis of the road.
In his reactions, the Project Manager of Hartland NBBH Construction Company, Mr. Patrick Abdallah, maintained that all the technical aspects of the project have been completed noting that they were creating access roads to the platform and promised that they would deliver the project within a record time.
ABIA ONLINE gathered that the inspection team included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr. Iheanyichukwu Ubani, the Public Relations Officer of NEWMAP, Mrs Ori Innocent, Senior Officers of the Ministry of Environment, a team of NEWMAP project Engineers, Environmental safeguard officers amongst others.
