The Public Relations Manager of Intels, Mr Isidore Sambol made the revelation of the redemption of the amount to newsmen in Abuja over the weekend while reacting to the warning of Governor Nyeson Wike at the flag-off of the project on July 15.
Governor Wike of Rivers State, while flagging off the road repair work on July 15 warned contributing companies to the project that they would not be allowed to operate if they did not pay up their contributions.
"If you don’t pay your contribution, I will not allow you to operate. We must do something to show that we have agreed on the rehabilitation of the road," Governor Wike told the six partner companies.
The six companies including Intels and the Rivers State Government had agreed to raise the N3 billion to fix the bad portion of the busy road which is a gate way to other neighbouring states.
Sambol explained that Intels fully paid up its share of the repair of the six kilometre portion of the collapsed East-West Road because of its strategic importance to the socio-economic development of Rivers and Nigeria as a whole and its avowed commitment to its corporate social responsibility in the environment where it operates and to members of its host communities.
He said that Intels, an oil and gas cargo handling company which has been operating for over 30 years takes delight in impacting positively on the lives of Nigerians living within its areas of operation.
He commended Governor Wike for the bold initiative of mobilising the six companies operating within the area to raise the three billion Naira needed to fix the road which has been a nightmare to its users for several years.
"Our own workers stand to benefit from the effort because they suffer a lot each working day manoeuvring their way through the heavy traffic experienced on the road and the attendant pot holes as they make their way to the office," Sambol said.
"Every day, they get to the office so tired and will spend some time reorganizing and adjusting to the work environment before facing the task for the day. This can be very frustrating and counter-productive," Sambol said.
At the flagging off, Governor Wike said both lanes of the East/West road from Eleme Junction to Onne exit point will be repaired and that the project would be handled by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) within a period of two months.
He said that the state government could no longer wait for the Federal Government to repair the road because of its economic importance to the state.
Other companies that contributed in raising the fund include Indorama Petroleum Limited, West African Container Terminal Limited, Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Nigeria Ports Authority and Oil and Gas Free Zones, Onne.
