Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway not abandoned, Project remains intact, says Minister

By ruth MALAGU

The Federal Government says construction of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is progressing as planned, dismissing reports that the project had been abandoned for the East-West Road.

David Umahi, Minister of Works, stated this while briefing Journalists on Monday at the State House in Abuja.

Umahi said construction is ongoing along various sections of the highway, adding that the project remained intact and was being implemented as designed.

“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is moving and moving even faster than envisaged. Don’t forget that Section One, covering 147.47 kilometres, is being fully constructed in Lagos,” he said.

The minister said Section Two, covering 55 kilometres, was expected to be ready by mid-November.

He said work is ongoing on Sections Three A and Three B, covering about 75 kilometres in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, with progress exceeding 40 per cent.

Umahi added that construction is ongoing on Sections Four A and Four B, covering 65 kilometres across Ogun and Ondo states.

He said work had also commenced on Section Five, covering 62.5 kilometres in Akwa Ibom, with more than 20 per cent progress recorded within less than three months.

The minister explained that the ministry is seeking President Bola Tinubu’s approval to incorporate about 400 kilometres of the East-West Road into the ongoing infrastructure development programme.

He said the proposed intervention would cover sections linking Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

Umahi said the East-West Road required attention because some sections had suffered damage from flooding, citing affected portions in Delta and Edo.

He stressed that the proposed work on the East-West Road would complement, rather than replace, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

“Nobody has abandoned the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. We have designers and surveyors working along the route, including in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers,” he said.

Umahi said the Federal Government is undertaking surveys along the route to ensure the project’s continued development and integration with other infrastructure projects in the Niger Delta.

He added that the highway remained part of the Federal Government’s legacy infrastructure projects and that its alignment would not be altered.

“The 750-kilometre coastal highway is intact and cannot be changed. Nobody has the power to change it because it is already designed and ongoing,” he said.

Credit NAN: Texts excluding Headline