By CrossRiverWatch admin
The ground breaking ceremony for the 240km Super Highway from Calabar to Obudu up to Kastsina Ala, which was earlier scheduled to be done by President Buhari on September 21 will now hold on Tuesday, October 20, 2015.
The event was cancelled due to concerns about the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project and safety of the Cross River National Park.
The state governor had promised an anxious state that he was going to immediately address the concerns that were raised by the federal ministry of environment to make sure Mr. President returns to perform the ceremony as soon as possible.
The governor exclusively informed CrossRiverWatch today that all those concerns have been addressed and President Buhari will be returning to the state on Tuesday to perform the groundbreaking so that the speed of work will be accelerated in full gear.
According to Governor Ayade, “The signature projects, which include the deep sea port and the superhighway, are very dear to my heart and to the economic explosion of Cross River state as a whole. I am determined to ensure that these projects are completed as I promised. We are talking about a N1.2trillion investment. The superhighway will cost 500billion while the sea port will cost 700billion. That is N1.2trillion. You can only imagine the quantum of revenue leap that will give the state and how many jobs that will unleash into our economy.
“The President has seen our determination and he has shown and demonstrated that he is a President for everyone regardless of party affiliation. He has accepted to come now to the state on Tuesday to do the ground breaking ceremony so that the speed of work can accelerate. I promised Cross Riverians I will deal with the issues the federal ministry of environment raised and the issues have been dealt with.”
The governor also allayed the fears of communities along the corridor of the existing federal highway from Calabar to Obudu which is now in a deplorable state with attendant accidents and loss of lives on a daily basis, that the road will not be abandoned.
The governor assured the communities that the super highway will pass through some of their city centers and for those that the road will not directly pass through the city centers, proper link roads will be constructed from the super highway to access the nearest city in all the local governments the road will traverse.
“I think this is a development initiative that every well meaning Cross Riverian should support. I am the governor of the entire Cross River State. Cross Riverians gave me their votes from all corners of the state and I am not here to serve only a section of the state. The dream of building a road to the northern part of the state, up to Katsina Ala is not to develop one side of the state and abandon the other. It is to open up Cross River State to the northern part of the country to enlarge the space for trade and commerce and multiply opportunities for our people. That is the way I want our people to look at this project.
“I will not abandon the existing road. I understand the level and number of mishaps along the road. It is Cross Riverians that are dying there and I am very concerned about their lives and I assure the people along that corridor that we will not abandon the road. Not minding that it is a federal road, we have plans to ensure that the road remains motorable for the good of our people. The superhighway will pass through some of the LGAs and for those it does not pass through the city centers directly, very good roads will be constructed to link the nearest city centers to the super highway.” The governor promised.