Yemisi Izuora
The Lagos State Government has advised contractors handling its road projects to ensure strict compliance to quality and standards.
The government says it will continue to place emphasis on conformance to Quality Assurance and Control standards in road construction and rehabilitation within the State by grouping Contractors into different categories depending on the technical ability and the precision of delivery on projects
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Aramide Adeyoye who led top management of the Ministry on inspection of some on-going road construction work in Ijede and Agric-Ishawo roads, Ikorodu and Gbagaga in Kosofe Local Government, disclosed that plans are in the pipeline to place registered contractors into different categories so as to ultimately determine the quality and volume of projects each contractor will handle.
Adeyoye, said the purpose of the inspection was to assess the quality of work, stage of completion and materials being used by the contractors, “As the process of reopening the economy take shape after Covid-19 lockdown, and we decided to embark on a tour of ongoing road projects across the State, in order to ensure quality control and standards in the delivery of all our projects”, she said
According to Adeyoye, the present administration has set a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all construction projects, adding that the State’s crop of engineers have been empowered to monitor and ensure the quality of work done by contractors is up to international standard. She noted that “Quality assurance is the hallmark of this administration. We cannot afford to compromise standards in all projects as all these projects are being financed through tax payers’ money. The only way to compensate them is to ensure they have value for their money”
The Special Adviser who observed that extensive works were ongoing on Ijede and Agric-Ishawo roads when the team visited the construction sites, also said some of the observations noticed by the team on some of the projects have been communicated to the contractors saying Government will not issue certificate of completion on any road projects not done to the required standard and scope of the projects.
While emphasizing the need for quality jobs and total adherence to project guidelines, the Special Adviser directed contractors to effect corrections as identified by the team and that site engineers must ensure contract specifications are met. She added that the tour will be extended to other parts of the State where road projects are ongoing, assuring Lagosians that Government is determined to ensure these projects are delivered according to schedule.