TRIBUNE
ROAD contractors are in for a tough time as the price of bitumen, a major component used in the production of asphalt, soared by 150 percent within a period of seven months, between August 2023 and March 2024.
Investigation by Saturday Tribune showed that 20 tons of bitumen, which was sold at N854,375 in August 2023, now sells for N2,008,330 in March 2024.
The road contractors are also concerned about the rising prices of cement, diesel, granite, and crushed stones.
While some of the contractors have abandoned construction sites, others have been having tough discussions with their clients on the need to reconcile the variations in materials’ costs.
An impeccable source at the Lagos Public Works told Saturday Tribune that the cost per ton of asphalt as of August 2023 was N70,000, but it escalated to N155,000 in March 2024.
Given the progression of the inflation rate in the price of bitumen between August 2023 and March 2024, the source said 20 tons of the product cost N854,375 in August; N1,121,175 in September; N1,082,775 in October; N1,301,000 in November; N1,351,000 in December 2023; N1,366,000 in January 2024; N1,770,280 in February and N2,008,330 in March, respectively.
Various factors such as inflation, volatile foreign exchange, fuel subsidy removal, government budget deficit and reliance on importation of materials have been adduced as reasons for the rising cost of bitumen and other construction materials.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, had warned contractors engaged by the ministry for federal road projects that the government would not pay them variation for any project delayed by them.
The national chairman of the Nigerian Institutions of Highway and Transportation Engineers (NIHTE), Saidu Hassan, maintained that the rising cost of bitumen was bound to impact the cost of road construction.
In an interview with Saturday Tribune, Hassan said from December to date, the price of bitumen had witnessed about 30 per cent increase, having risen from N1.4 million per metric tonne in December 2023 to N1.770 million in the current month.
He said the government, as an important stakeholder in the use of bitumen, should intervene to boost its supply for the delivery of road projects across the country.
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