Oyo to construct 14 bridges, culverts with proposed $200m World Bank loan
The Oyo State Government has disclosed that a total of 14 bridges and culverts will be constructed with the proposed $200 million facility from the World Bank for the Ibadan urban flood management project.
A statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo listed the bridges and culverts to include Ogbere Moradeyo Culvert (Ogbere Moradeyo), Foworogi Culvert (along Ogbere Atuba Road), Elere River Culvert (along Ogbere Atuba Road), Ogbere Pegba Approaches (Mosfala, Ogungbade Area) and Ebenezery Culvert (Alakia-Isebo Area).
Others, according to the statement, include Olorungunwa Culvert (Bioku/Poat Area) and Sasa River Culvert (Osajin-Odejayi Link Road), Ola Adua Streams (Ola Adua, Pete), Alaro Culvert (Steel Works Area, 7Up, Oluyole Extension), Believers Stream Believers Quarters, Osajin), Cele-Rainbow-Ojo Ekun (Agara/Ona), Maje River (Addin-Idi Oro), Alaro-Poly Road (Apete Junction) as well as Omirin Culvert (Ogbere).
It further explained that engineering studies and preliminary designs had already been carried out on four of the culverts and bridges, namely: Ogbere Pegba Approaches, Sasa River Culvert, Ola Adua Streams and Cele-Rainbow-Ojo Ekun.
The statement added that the engineering studies and preliminary designs had been submitted to the World Bank after which the contracts for the construction of the culverts and bridges were expected to be awarded by the bank.
It attributed the August 26, 2011 flooding to land use factors, inadequate and non-functional culverts and drainages, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and construction of buildings in the flood plains.
The factors, it said, led to the need to development mitigating measures such as construction of bridges, culverts, retaining walls and roads to provide free flow of the rivers and accesses to the residents along the river courses.
It would be recalled that controversies had trailed the proposed loan, with the opposition claiming that it was facilitated by the Federal Government.
The state government had explained that following the August 2011 flood, Governor Abiola Ajimobi had made a power-point presentation to the World Bank team in Abuja, who, impressed by his presentation, said they were pleasantly shocked that the state had come back to the radar of development through the activities of the governor.
It said that it merely formalized the process of the credit request from the World Bank which required that the request be made through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“As at today, we have met all the conditions set by the World Bank and we are waiting for the bank to declare the credit effective. The Jonathan government had no single input into the credit,’’ the state government said.
