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NDDC gets Niger Delta coastal road design

Posted by SULE BELLO on February 10, 2010 at 11:15pm
NDDC gets Niger Delta coastal road designFrom Kelvin Ebiri, Port-HarcourtFINALLY, the preliminary works on the engineering design for the multi-billion naira East-West Coastal Road, which is a critical component of the Niger Delta Master Plan, has been submitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).The proposed dual-carriageway is approximately 700 kilometres in length and runs across the swamps, mangroves, creeks and major rivers of the Niger Delta.The alignment starts from Calabar, running across the Calabar River and Western channel, through Ibeno, Opobo, Andoni, Bonny, Brass, Ke, Kula, Brass, Oporoza, Mandagho, Awoye, Odonla, Aiyetoro and takes its stretch to Aiyeteju in Lagos. This alignment crosses almost 60 water bodies that would require bridges.The Guardian gathered that the survey and the preparation of the final engineering designs have commenced. It is expected that the project would keep alive hope for over 1500 settlements in the Niger Delta, which are currently inaccessible by road.As part of the overall development strategy for the region, the Federal Government had in 2007 rolled out the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan as the blueprint to address the gross underdevelopment of the area.The East-West Coastal road is a key recommendation in the Master Plan produced by the NDDC. The proposed road would immensely increase economic activities in the coastal area, open up inaccessible communities and create tourism opportunities.NDDC had in October 2008 commissioned a leading indigenous consortium of civil and structural engineers, Pearl Consultants, to undertake the studies and design of the proposed highway.To ensure that all parts of the region are adequately connected to this East-West spine, rib-like roads have been introduced to connect the spine to major proposed and existing roads in the Niger Delta. Major connecting ribs are at Igbokoda, Mandagho, Ofunama, Unity road and several other roads.Sustainable engineering design, a source in the commission said, was put to work to ensure that the balance of the Niger Delta ecosystem was not significantly impacted. The source added that all ecologically sensitive regions were by-passed to ensure the conservation of key species.Major challenges encountered in the preparation of the road engineering, it was said, were geomorphological, geological and hydrological in nature.
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