The Former Governor of Kano state, Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has extolled Julius Berger Construction Company for operating within the right and best engineering standards on projects they undertake.
Kwankwaso, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (FNIQS), gave the commendation, Tuesday, when he commissioned the Rumuogba 1 & 2 Flyover, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
The former governor, who was Special Guest of Honour of the River state government at the ceremony, congratulated the state government for its wisdom in procuring Julius Berger for its infrastructural development projects in Port Harcourt.
Kwankwaso’s position was further affirmed by the former Governor of Katsina state, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, who also extolled the technical virtue and durable integrity of Julius Berger’s engineering works.
On his part, the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, recalled how a road contract was denied Julius Berger some years earlier in preference for a lower bidder.
According to Wike: “I know a road that Julius Berger bid for N14 billion, but then another company, which I will not mention, bid for N6 billion. Now, we said well, let’s give it to the company that bid N6 billion.
“…At the end of the day, we spent over N20 billion in doing that work. So, from the onset, if we had given it to Julius Berger, it would have been better for us.” Governor Wike added that, “…It would have been a whole lot much more prudent, cheaper and with definitely better quality results if Julius Berger’s bid was accepted and the contract awarded accordingly; it was a big lesson on how painfully costly the cheaper option without a reliable history or pedigree of performance can eventually be in choosing a contractor for serious engineering construction works, and we have no intention of repeating such mistakes”. Governor Wike further added: “… That bitter experience has taught us that, in the long term, Julius Berger and its tested and proven excellent project delivery processes as well as its long-earned and continuing engineering reputation and integrity, indeed, saves all of us from the nightmares of project disruption, failure and consequential cost overruns. “Rivers people deserve the best infrastructure, and we will continue to use the best, Julius Berger, to give the Rivers people only the very best.”
