The Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has canceled a N740 billion contract with Julius Berger Nigeria Plc for refurbishing the Abuja-Kaduna section of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway due to delays and non-compliance with updated terms.
On November 4, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja issued the termination notice. Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Ahmed explained that the decision came after Julius Berger stopped work and failed to resume, despite orders to do so.
“The Federal Ministry of Works has issued a 14-day termination notice to Julius Berger for the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriageway rehabilitation,” the statement read, referring to the project’s Section I.
Ahmed added that months of negotiations had been unsuccessful, prompting the ministry’s action.
The contract, initially awarded on December 20, 2017, was launched in June 2018 with an original budget of N155.7 billion. Sections II and III (Kaduna-Zaria and Zaria-Kano) were partially completed and handed over during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but Section I faced numerous setbacks.
The current Minister of Works subsequently ordered a redesign, dividing the work into concrete and asphalt phases. Approval for the initial 38 kilometres of concrete work was awarded to Dangote Industries in October 2024 with a 14-month completion timeline.
The ministry attributed the termination to President Tinubu’s commitment to completing infrastructure projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at alleviating hardships for Nigerians using the road.
In September 2024, the Federal Executive Council approved the project’s scope and budget revisions, reducing the total contract to N740.8 billion.
The revised terms were communicated to Julius Berger on October 23, 2024, with a seven-day deadline for acceptance. However, instead of agreeing to the updated terms, Julius Berger submitted changes to cost estimates and technical measurements in a letter dated October 29, 2024.
The ministry scheduled a meeting with the company for November 4, but Julius Berger did not attend, leading to the contract’s termination due to time lapses and unsatisfactory performance.
