The Federal Government has announced the first quarter of 2015 as the completion date for the East-West Road but however noted that that depends largely depends on the availability of funds.

The Supervising Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Darius Ishaku told a news conference in Abuja that the project has suffered several postponements because of the paucity of funds.

The minister, who said 70 per cent of the project has been completed, also blamed the topography of the region as one of the factors affecting the topography of the region is also affecting the project.

The project, according to the minister, which was started in 2010 has faced several challenges, chief among them is the availability of funds.

He noted that the total contract sum for the project is N349.9 billion naira but revealed that only N250 billion has been disbursed, leaving over N100 billion to be released.

The 338 kilometre road stretching from Effurun in Delta state to Oron in Akwa Ibom state cuts across four states in the Niger Delta region.

The design for the project has 42 bridges and 786 culverts, which are divided into five sections.