Benin-Asaba Expressway: BAECC Seeks Patience, Promises Faster Construction From October

The Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company Limited (BAECC) has appealed to motorists and communities along the Benin-Asaba corridor to exercise patience, assuring that construction work on the 125-kilometre highway will be significantly accelerated from October as the rainy season recedes.

The Chief Executive Officer of BAECC, Samuel Daramola, made the appeal in a statement on Sunday, acknowledging the difficulties being experienced by motorists as reconstruction continues on the heavily travelled highway.

Daramola said the company was conscious of the inconvenience caused by the ongoing works and was taking steps to reduce the hardship while maintaining its commitment to completing the permanent reconstruction of the road.

“We recognise the inconvenience that motorists and communities have experienced, and we do not take their concerns lightly,” he said. “Our responsibility is not only to build the permanent road but also to do everything reasonably possible to keep people moving while construction is taking place.”

The Benin-Asaba Expressway is being reconstructed under a 36-month construction programme involving extensive earthworks, drainage systems, pavement construction, culverts, carriageway expansion, traffic management and installation of production facilities.

BAECC said significant work had already been carried out on various sections of the highway, including earthworks and subgrade preparation, drainage and culvert construction, asphalt and binder-course works, as well as expansion of sections of the carriageway.

The concession company said it had also mobilised major construction equipment and facilities to the project, including asphalt plants, concrete batching plants, paving equipment, concrete mould plants and Wet Mix Macadam plants.

According to the company, billions of naira in private-sector resources had been committed to the project in the form of construction equipment, plants, materials, logistics and supporting infrastructure.

Daramola explained that some of the work undertaken during the current phase might not be readily visible to motorists but remained critical to delivering a durable highway.

“A project of this magnitude is built in stages. Before the travelling public sees kilometres of finished asphalt, there must be drainage, earthworks, pavement preparation, production plants and equipment mobilisation,” he said.

BAECC identified persistent rainfall as one of the major challenges affecting the current phase of the project, saying saturated ground conditions had constrained earthworks, pavement stabilisation and asphalt operations.

Daramola, however, stressed that the rainfall had not brought construction to a halt, but had affected the sequencing and pace of certain activities.

“Where permanent pavement operations are restricted by rainfall, our teams continue with other engineering activities and palliative interventions,” he said.

The company also attributed some of the difficulties to the need to keep the busy highway open to traffic throughout the reconstruction.

It noted that the route carries thousands of motorists, buses, commercial vehicles and articulated trucks, making it necessary to balance construction requirements with the need to maintain traffic flow.

According to BAECC, there had been instances where sections undergoing treatment were reopened earlier than would ordinarily be preferred by the engineers in order to ease congestion and reduce the burden on motorists.

“We are building and managing traffic at the same time,” Daramola said. “There are occasions when engineering considerations would favour keeping a section closed for longer, but the realities facing motorists require us to reopen the road.”

The company said it would continue with palliative interventions on difficult sections of the corridor while permanent reconstruction progresses.

Daramola said the immediate priority was to reduce the hardship being experienced by road users without losing focus on the long-term objective of delivering a durable highway.

“Our immediate task is to reduce the inconvenience being experienced today while remaining focused on the permanent solution,” he said.

BAECC said preparations were underway for a major increase in permanent construction activities from October, when weather conditions are expected to become more favourable.

The accelerated construction programme will include completion of drainage works, pavement reconstruction, asphalt binder and wearing-course installation, culvert construction and other permanent works across multiple sections of the expressway.

The company said additional personnel, equipment and construction resources were also being mobilised ahead of the dry-season construction window.

“As the rains recede, Nigerians will see a significant acceleration of permanent works,” Daramola assured.

The CEO appealed to motorists and host communities to assess the project within the context of its overall 36-month construction programme, rather than solely on the basis of the difficulties being experienced during the current phase.

He acknowledged the concerns over the condition of some sections of the highway, saying the company was not seeking to dismiss them.

“We are not asking anyone to ignore the present difficulties. We recognise them and are addressing them through palliative interventions while building the permanent solution,” Daramola said.

“What we ask for is the time and opportunity to deliver the project within the construction programme. Judge us ultimately by the quality, durability and safety of the highway we deliver.”

BAECC also pledged to continue working with the Federal Government, relevant government agencies and host communities to ensure the successful delivery of the project.

Daramola said all stakeholders shared the objective of providing a safer and more reliable highway for motorists and communities along the corridor.

“The road people see during construction is not the road they will see at completion,” he said. “We ask for a little more patience and the opportunity to complete what we have started.”