The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi has disclosed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is being constructed with the safety and economic benefits considerations for the people in mind, adding that that the first 20 kilometers will be inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu in May, 2025.
Umahi stated this on Friday during the inspection of the ongoing coastal road, saying that the contractor handling the project is working to ensure that the phase is completed before the deadline.
According to the Minister, the road will be made up of 10 lanes which includes six major and four service lanes, just as the road will be equipped with 24 hours light, security posts, medical facilities and other infrastructures that will enhance its economic value.
He said the Federal Government is acquiring land by the corridor for infrastructure that will lead to return on investments on the road apart from the tolling.
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Umahi said: “We are going to be reviewing this contract to accommodate what is not there. There are places like that Landmark where we have to build a retaining wall.”
“We want to make sure that we enhance economic activities along the corridor, travel time at night, secure lives and properties of our people.”
Speaking on the commissioning date, the Minister said: “Here in section one of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, we are very sure that we will commission the first 20 kilometers and 10 kilometers in section two.”
His words: “The good thing is that in this first session of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Hi-Tech has divided the entire 47 by six lanes into five sessions and every session is doing a similar work.
“This is what gave us the conviction to say that we can complete session one by May 2025.
“That is why we divide the completion into two phases, the section one, we will be commissioning the first 20 kilometers before the end of May 2025 even though another 10 kilometers would have been done by the end of the job.
“But continuously, we have 20 kilometers to commission and we will have the road continuously sand filled totally waiting settlement and of course the completion of the remaining 17 kilometers before the end of next year.
“And of course, we will also by May 2025, would been able to complete 10 kilometers in session two, which is 25 kilometers, which is going to stop at the border between Lagos and Ogun states.
“We have been written by the NNPCL about their gas pipeline along the Ondo and Ogun axis. So we are doing a meeting with the to look at it.
“The people whose properties are involved, we have fully paid them compensation. The last time I saw the papers, we had a total of N18 billion compensation to pay.
“Generally, we have directed the controllers to concentrate on a number of projects, at least a minimum of five projects must be commissioned.
“And if we have funding challenges, we have decided to do commissioning in sections. Some of our roads like the Sokoto-Zamfara-Kastina-Kaduna Highway is a total of 375 kilometers by two, which is 750 kilometers.
“So we may not have all the money in 2025 to complete, there are four sections and we are going to be completing a minimum of 50 per cent of that road.
“Other roads we are going to give adequate attention is the Kano-Kastina Road and the Northern bypass. We are going to give some of these projects a very big push. So, we have decided to concentrate about five projects per zone.”