A section of the ongoing flood control project at General Hospital, Ituk Mbang, Uruan local government area, Akwa Ibom State.
Abasifreke Effiong
A 1.5km flood control project initiated by the Akwa Ibom State government to end the perennial flooding at the General Hospital, Ituk Mbang, Uruan local government area, is nearing completion.
The hospital hosts the newly-built Akwa Ibom State isolation center.
The project which is implemented by the Akwa Ibom State Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency, AKROIMA, commenced four weeks ago according the agency.
The state government came under severe public criticisms after it renovated the hospital and built the isolation center without fixing portions on the road near the hospital depleted by flood.
Our correspondent noted that the erosion control project will end the perennial flooding experienced on the Ekpene Ukim -Ituk Mbang road, from Saint Thomas RCM school, Ekpene Ukim to Ituk Mbang junction, which usually overflows into the hospital, houses, and business premises, within the area.
Conducting journalists round the project site on Tuesday 22nd March, the Chairman of AKROIMA, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, said the project was in response to public outcry over the frequent collapse of portions of the road and the threat flooding posed to the Ituk Mbang general hospital, the School of Nursing, Ituk Mbang, and its environs.
The Chairman of AKROIMA, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, during an inspection of the project on Tuesday.
“We thank the Governor for trusting the agency to carry out the project of this magnitude. This project is in response to public outcry from patients, personnel at the hospital and the residents of Ekpene Ukim and Ituk Mbang on the over-deplorable state of the road.”
“A section of the road near the hospital covering a stretch of more than 500 meters was undulating, so people unusual make jest of the hospital, saying that if you are going to Ituk Mbang general hospital, your sickness will not kill you, but the deplorable state of the road and flood will kill you.”
“The hospital experienced the flooding because of the gradient on both sides of the road. There is a hill on both sides of the road, so the hospital came under a serious flood depth which retains all the water which overflows an entire ward in the hospital.”
“Not only are we taking off flood from the Ituk Mbang- Ekpene Ukim road and the general hospital, we are ending the flooding that usually ravages the two communities.”
Ntuk Udeh said the drainage constructed has a water retention reservoir about 50 meters to the retention embarkment to ensure that the volume and velocity of flood at the outfall does not become damaging in future.
“We are constructing a retention reservoir to ensure that the volume of water at the outfall is very minimal. Beyond the outfall, we will stone-pack the channel so that whatever little overflow we have beyond the retention embarkment will be very minimal such that it can purify itself before it gets to the stream which is its final destination”, he added.
The site supervisor, Engr. Idorenyin Usanga, said the agency has deployed best engineering practices in line with the scope of the project.
Engr. Usanga said they are working hard to ensure that the project is completed in two weeks before heavy rain sets in.
