The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Akwagaga Lelegima Enyia, has charged the contractor handling its 13-floor permanent headquarters to work expeditiously towards completing the project.
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer gave the assurance on Monday, September 9 during an inspection of the headquarters complex situated along Eastern By-Pass, Port Harcourt. She was accompanied by directors and engineers of the Commission.
Enyia expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of work at the main office building and the ancillary structure.
She said: “I am not impressed with what I saw today. I am not happy that after all these years, this is the level of work done. I will be here to work if need be to ensure that by December the work will at least get up to 80 per cent.
“From time to time, I will be here to do my work. If necessary, I will bring my table and my chair here to work because we must get value for money.
“I will be happy if when paid the progress made will be exactly the work done. I can assure you that the government is ready to release fund to ensure that the project will be completed as soon as possible.”
The NDDC boss said that the contractor had assured her that the project would be ready by June next year. “I will hold the contractor to his words,” she said.
Enyia assured that the NDDC would provide all the necessary support to ensure that the project was completed expeditiously, stressing that the Commission would not compromise on both the quality and approved designs.
The NDDC boss said the commission was anxious to complete the headquarters project to add value to the work of the NDDC towards meeting its mandate of facilitating the rapid development of the Niger Delta region.
The Project Manager, Architect Clement Udie, said that the headquarters complex, which was initiated by the defunct Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, had reached 50 per cent completion.
He explained that the headquarters complex would include ancillary facilities such as a medical centre, car park, restaurant, bank, among others.
He said that all the service equipment for the main building were already on the site waiting for installation. “Other electrical equipment such as lifts and escalators are also on ground,” he said.
Udie said that that the engineers have been able to identify the critical areas to tackle to ensure that work progressed at a faster pace. He noted that it included the need to address the issue of paying contractors who supplied some of the items so they would release them for installation.
The Project Coordinator for the contractor, Architect Felix Darko, promised to achieve the targets set for the completion of the building once funds were released.
He assured the NDDC that they were working according to set standards, stating that the contractors involved in the project were determined to complete the multi-storey building by June 2020.