An indigenous construction company, Enikkom Construction Company Limited, has expressed its willingness to partner the Federal Government to end the menace of pipeline vandalism, which has cost the country several trillions of naira.
This followed the incessant pipeline vandalisation across the country, especially in the Niger Delta
region.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Managing Director of the company,
Mr. Analiefo Nzegwu, said the current method of laying pipeline has helped to curb vandalism to a large extent, adding that with the company’s technology, which buries pipe with several fits, it is impossible for vandals to reach the pipeline.
Analiefo said; “what we are doing to overcome pipeline vandalism in Nigeria, basically, is that we have a technology that can bury the pipe deep down in the ground, where the vandals cannot
get to.
“Most of the pipes are buried shallow, just like one and half meters down,
so that vandals can cut into and excavate them, but with our new technology, we can bury the pipes 15 to 30 meters below the surface, where no vandals can touch them,” he declared.
Asked on the latest development to help improve the lot of Nigeria’s construction
companies, he said; “we get trained young engineers acquainted with this new technology, so we are doing lots of manpower development for young Nigerians.
They apply for the training, then we select those that have active minds to understand the new technology, because it is not everybody that will understand it. So we train them.”
On his perception about the effectiveness of construction companies,
he said; “I will say construction companies are trying; they are doing relatively okay but not 100 per cent. And then on the indigenous companies, we would have to focus more on quality because they don’t focus on quality like we expect from them.
For instance, if you give Julius Berger a contract today, they pay attention to qualities, that is why their jobs come out fine.
“Even if they are not the ones doing the job, when you see the quality of job they do, you will be happy.
But most of them focus on just making money; they don’t apply all the resources that is engaged. So they compromise on
quality, and that is one the major things that the construction companies would have to
look into,” Aniefo
added.