Lagos-Calabar Highway Has Underground Drainage, We’re Addressing Ongoing Construction Defects, Says Umahi

Bennett Oghifo

There are usually defects in every road construction work in progress, mostly due to natural causes, and these are constantly addressed before the work is done.

This was a clarification made by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during an inspection of a section of the Lagos-Calabar Highway being constructed by Hitech Construction Company.

The minister who was responding to stories of defects on the road on social media, also said contrary to these reports, the coastal road has underground drainages.

The minister said, “In an ongoing work, there are bound to be a few distortions here and there by nature. And then social media starts to fly that there’s no drainage. This is the only project in the whole country where you have 750 kilometer of roads, and you have, 750 times two of underground drainage all through. There are bound to be rain problems, where a project is not completed.”

Umahi commended the contractors, Hitech, for working ahead of schedule despite the technical challenges of sand filling and ocean encroachment.

According to him, “We had just about three meters for the ocean to break into that concrete carriage. But then we had to fight the ocean and the company that the ocean respects very highly is Hitech. So they came up with a combination of options that has seen us through in this section, starting from kilometer 13, and may end it at kilometer 15.”

He said, “We brought in geotextile to ensure the ocean does not leach into the sharp sand. On top of that, rocks are being layered at different levels. This is quite a lot of work and could be seen as a project on its own.”

Umahi said the contractor, Hitech Construction Company, had demonstrated “courage and commitment.

“No one else would have done this. There are so many unwritten things being done here for the stability of the job. It takes people that are committed to the development of the country.”

Umahi also clarified that the federal government did not request of N3.6 trillion for the rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, stating that no final cost has been reached.

He said the figures trending in the media were “preliminary estimates from Julius Berger alone, which were never presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.

“What we presented to the council was not a request for N3.6 trillion or N3.8 trillion. We merely said this is what Julius Berger is saying, but we do not trust these figures because one consultant cannot give a reliable estimate. That was why we sought approval to invite a minimum of seven global contractors to carry out their investigations, designs and proposals. No approval has been given for any figure.”

He said the Carter Bridge would also be rehabilitated and that Julius Berger had given estimates for rehabilitation that would cost about N389 billion, and for its reconstruction as a cable-stayed bridge at a cost of about N359 billion.

He said, “These figures were extrapolated to the Third Mainland Bridge due to the similarity of structural defects. They are only indicative and not binding.”

The minister explained the degree of the defects in the bridges, saying, this had weakened the foundations of both Carter and Third Mainland Bridges, reducing their depth of penetration in some sections by over 60 per cent.

He said, “The level of degradation of the Carter Bridge is the same as that of the Third Mainland Bridge. The steel casings have rusted, concrete reinforcements have been exposed, and defects are progressing in geometrical progression.”

Umahi said the FEC directed that multiple contractors and independent consultants should verify the structural state of the bridges and determine whether rehabilitation or full reconstruction would be most economical.

He said the FEC also approved for private sector participation under a public–private partnership (PPP) arrangement, with the possibility of tolling the Carter Bridge once completed.