Ekiti State Government has publicly opened bids for the construction of a New Oja Oba (King’s Market) and a flyover in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The event, according to the Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Chief Segun Akinwumi, was a testimony to the transparent manner the administration has been handling public finances and projects.
Akinwumi, who also doubles as the Special Adviser on Due Process, said the state government advertised twice in four newspapers(The Sun, Tribune, Punch and The Guardian) seeking bids for the projects and three firms put in bids for the market, while one did for the flyover.
Those who tendered bids for the market were Time Building and Construction Company Limited which put in N3.66 billion, Tiangen Nigeria Limited which put in N3.33 billion while Kaymon Construction Nigeria Limited put forward a bid of N3.06 billion.
The state’s Ministry of Works estimated the project to cost N3.19 billion.
For the flyover, the only bidder, Kopek Construction Nigeria Limited put in a bid of N5.81 billion while the ministry’s estimate was N5.85 billion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Commissioner for Works and Transportation in Ekiti State, Mr Kayode Osho, described the projects as landmarks and gave the assurance that they would not be abandoned.
“The projects are landmark and are in line with the efforts of the administration to impact positively on the lives of the people of the state. Adequate steps have been taken to ensure they are not abandoned.
Tender notice on airstrip was put on hold for the state government to resolve the issues of enumeration and compensation of affected farmers.
“All the bids will be passed to consultants already recruited and they will analyse the bids and subsequently advise the state executive council.
The consultants will dig into the technical and other abilities of the companies to handle the jobs.
They have 48 hours to do the analysis and after this, the state executive council will act.
The projects will start within the next two to three weeks. We apologize for the delay in starting these projects,” he said.