The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has reiterated the stand of the ministry on the use of either asphalt or concrete in the construction of federal roads across the nation, stressing that there remains no controversy over the issue.
He said each technology had conditions attached to its deployment on Nigerian roads.
This was as he reinforced his stance on the six main policies of the ministry to guide road construction.
Umahi disclosed these policies when the national leadership of the Nigerian Society of Engineers led by its President, Tasiu Wudil, paid him a courtesy call in his office in Abuja.
In separate statements signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister and the Assistant Director, Information, Media and Public Relations in the ministry, Orji Uchenna and Clement Ezeorah, respectively, on Friday, the former Ebonyi State governor explained that the ministry’s position is not about comparing asphalt pavement and concrete pavement but that for contractors using either of them to follow certain conditions according to the terrains.
The minister said, “We are not just comparing asphalt and concrete, no, that is not what we are doing, first of all, for the use of asphalt, these are the conditions.
“Also, for the use of concrete, these are the conditions, but there are certain terrains in states that we stress must use concrete; we cannot change that. You cannot put asphalt in water, but you can put concrete into water”.
The minister explained that the rate at which the prices of these two products fluctuate was alarming and that the increment in asphalt was geometric while that of concrete was in arithmetic progression.
