Bayelsa State government has awarded the contract for the first phase of the Nembe-Brass road project in the Bayelsa East Senatorial District to Setraco Nigeria Limited.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the weekly state executive council meeting on Wednesday, the acting Chief of Staff, Government House, Yenagoa, Dr. Peter Akpe, who is also a member of the state procurement board, said after following the due processes, the contract was awarded for N54.1billion.
Dr. Akpe said given the significance of the road project, the contractor was carefully selected from a list of other reputable companies and expressed the confidence that the firm that won the bid will deliver quality job.
Also, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Surv. Moses Teibowei, said the first phase of the road covers a distance of 21 kilometres with 10 bridges.
Teibowei noted that the award of the contract had put paid to rumours that the state government had abandoned the project.
He also dispelled claims in some quarters that construction giants, Julius Berger, which is handling the final phase of the dualised Isaac Boro Expressway project, had blocked the canal at Etegwe.
He said the company is rather doing a professional job, which his ministry was supervising to ensure that the right things were done.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr. Ayibaina Duba, assured that the government was committed to the development of the state and urged those spreading unfounded stories about projects, especially on social media, to desist.
He said government conducts its activities transparently and will always avail people of the state the necessary information as regards its development.
Also, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Maxwell Ebibai, assured that funding of the project would not be an issue as government had secured the funds to execute it.