The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), Mr. Ossy Onuko has described the ongoing overpass construction at Aroma Junction project as a critical public infrastructure project that is very necessary in linking the two parts of Awka while also easing traffic congestion in the capital city.
Onuko who also recognized the importance of a pedestrian walkway at the Regina Caeli Junction, hinted that the overpass being constructed at the Aroma Junction had also been yearned for by the public.
The ACTDA boss however, emphasized that Governor Chukwuma Soludo is intentional about the all-round development of Awka, stressing that no part would be left behind in the Governor’s transformative vision for the capital city and Anambra State at large.
He further added that the new overpass, when completed, would make it possible for people to navigate the two sides of Awka without plying through the ever-busy Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.
Mr. Onuko, while reiterating that the need for pedestrian walkway at Regina is ever in the mind of the state government, said it was part of the reasons why the government stopped developers from building on the spacious land at the Junction, knowing fully well that it would be of great need to the government someday.
He also explained that the Federal Government had designed a pedestrian bridge for the Regina Caeli Junction, which, he said, was supposed to be part of the contract for the reconstruction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.
The ACTDA helmsman, however, added that the state government may still take up the construction of the bridge the same way it has taken up the construction of the overpass at Aroma.
Mr. Onuko, who highlighted some of the recent developments witnessed by Awka, also lauded Governor Soludo for what he described as massive infrastructural development going on in the capital city and in different parts of the state at large.
According to him, “It is an overpass, which will include pedestrian walkway and motorway, linking the two sides of Awka, which is one thing we are lacking as a city.
“Two sides of Awka cannot be linked now without coming through the Expressway. Therefore, by this, we are decongesting the Expressway, such that anybody coming from the other side of Awka who wants to get to Ngozika Estate, Ifite, Okpuno, and others may not necessarily have to pass through the Expressway.
“In other words, the Expressway will eventually be left for people going to Onitsha or Enugu. And therefore, by this, we are also decongesting traffic in the City.”
“The Commissioner for Works is interfacing with the federal government on the design they have made. And if at some points, the state government feels that these are not in line with what we want, we can take it up the same way we are taking this one up too.
“So it is also in the mind of our Governor and the government of Anambra State,” he said.
“I believe the Governor deserves some accolades at this point, for giving Ndị Anambra these public infrastructures that are critical to the development and economic stability of Awka and our dear state,” Onuko concluded.
