By Eguasa God’spower
The current rehabilitation work on Ekehuan Road in Benin City is part of the Edo State Government’s plan to transform the state into the preferred investment destination in the country, by serving as the link road to the Benin River Port (BRP) project in Gelegele.
Residents around the Ekehuan Road axis of the Benin metropolis have continued to laud the efforts of the Obaseki administration on the ongoing rehabilitation work, which according to them, has triggered a lot of economic activities in the area, as new businesses are springing up along the corridor on a daily basis.
Before the commencement of the dualization project, the poor state of the road made life unbearable for the residents and business owners in the communities. During the rainy season, motorists could not ply the road due to the heavy floods. Numerous businesses were forced to shut down due to low customer patronage and lack of access roads.
Some residents who were interviewed expressed optimism about the ongoing construction work, stating that the road dualisation will increase customer patronage and also help reduce the prices of commodities caused by high cost of transportation and logistics.
The road when completed will boost economic activities in the locality as it serves as a major link road to different parts of the state including Evbuotubu, Ugbiyokho, Oghede, Agenigie, Ekehuan Barracks, Udo and most importantly, the Gelegele community where the Benin River Port project is domiciled.
On the current status of the project, the Area Manager of the contracting firm, Hartland Construction Company, Mr. Samir Yehya affirmed that the project is above 50 per cent completed. The construction work which began from Mobil Petrol Station at King’s Square has progressed beyond Erediauwa to Ugbiyokho and beyond.
Though the wet season somewhat slowed down the pace of work, the contractors are fully back on site and the road project has once again commenced.
Governor Godwin Obaseki has continued to demonstrate unwavering commitment towards road infrastructure in the state. This is the reason the ‘Wake and See’ sobriquet now appended to his name has stuck.
