Julius Berger Delivers Cost Effective, Strong, Quality Projects – Kwankwaso

Former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has declared that based on experience, Nigeria’s construction giant, Julius Berger, operates only the right and best engineering standards to deliver on projects they undertake.

Kwankwaso, who is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveors (FNIQS), therefore advised clients of the engineering construction sector in Nigeria to wisely avoid the huge error of judgment by which some say Julius Berger is too expensive.

Kwankwaso, who stated these in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital where he commissioned the Rumuogba 1 & 2 Flyover constructed by Julius Berger, said that during his two tenures as Governor of Kano State, he also employed the services of Julius Berger as contractor to achieve the successful construction of three major infrastructural projects, stressing that all the infrastructures are still standing strong as an eloquent testimony of the brilliant, premium international quality, sturdy and reliable Julius Berger engineering construction standard.

Kwankwaso, who was also former Minister of Defence, was the Special Guest of Honour of the River State Government at the ceremony which held on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 in Port Harcourt.

While congratulating the Rivers State Government for its wisdom in procuring Julius Berger for its infrastructural development projects in Port Harcourt, Kwankwaso, urged clients in the construction sector of the country to the Central Area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where infrastructure constructed or built by Julius Berger are still standing strong and in excellent condition about three decades after being commissioned for public use.

Kwankwaso’s position was also affirmed by the former Governor of Katsina State, Mr Ibrahim Shehu Shema, who also extolled the technical virtue and durable integrity of Julius Berger’s engineering works.

On his part, the host of the infrastructural projects commissioning events in Port Harcourt, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, noted how a particular road contract was very mistakenly denied Julius Berger some years ago in Rivers State in preference for a lower bidder.

In the words of Wike; “I know a road that Julius Berger bidded for and one other company bidded for as well. Julius Berger’s bid for that road was N14 billion, and then the other company which I will not mention bidded for N6 billion.

“Now, we said well, let’s give it to the company that bidded N6 billion. And we did not give Julius Berger. That was not my Administration, but I was in the Administration then. 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,” he stressed.

The Rivers Governor continued; “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.

“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,” Governor Wike assured.