NAN-ND-3
Road
Warri (Delta), Nov. 19, 2017 (NAN) Mr Paul Akporowho, Vice Chairman, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Delta chapter, has urged the State Government, to rehabilitate more roads in Warri, the commercial hub of the state.
Akporowho who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Warri said that good road network was essential to the economic development of the state.
He said that provision of road infrastructure was an integral aspect of government’s ease of doing business policy which ultimately aimed at attracting investment.
Akporowho said that the poor state of the roads in Warri had resulted in daily loss of man-hour which was unhealthy to the economy of Delta.
“The man-hour lost on the roads, resulting from gridlock between Enerhen and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) on the Warri-Sapele road, for instance, is enormous.
“You end up spending over an hour in a very short distance and that is bad for business. If the adjoining roads are good, commuters can also navigate to avoid the gridlock.
“Good road network attracts investment. An investor looks out for good roads before he/she decides to invest in an environment. So the ease of doing business is paramount to an investor.
“If government fixes the roads and ensures that the drains work effectively, the economy of the state will be boosted and productivity encouraged.
“Aside the man-hour loss, the bad roads also do great damage to the vehicles,” he said.
Akporowho said the Warri-Sapele road, the busiest and longest in the commercial city, was in a sorry state, stressing that it was the responsibility of government to provide infrastructure, including roads.
NAN reports that Walter Odili Road, Oil Field Road, First and Third Marine Gate Roads, Jakpa Junction, Enerhen Junction, Refinery Road and Ugbuagwen are some of the roads and areas with bad portions. (NAN)
EDI/EMO
Edited by Ejike Obeta