Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Will Be Tolled, an Investment Corridor, Says Umahi

Bennett Oghifo

The Lagos-Calabar Highway is an investment corridor that will generate the money spent on its construction through tolling and other financial activities on both sides of the road.

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi stated this during the inspection of a section of the road, this week.

Umahi said, “This road will be tolled. The money that is spent will be recovered. And we’ve seen by the investment on the road corridor that the road is capable of paying for itself. Tolling alone cannot pay for the cost of the construction, so this is an investment beyond road construction.

“This project is a catalyst. The adjoining routes are being linked by the federal government, and the road will drive investment far beyond Lagos or Calabar. It is a project that pays for itself.”

Also, he said the road will a 2.9-kilometre tunnel linking Ahmadu Bello Way, Snake Island, and Badagry, which will further connect to the Sokoto-Badagry Highway.

Umahi said the Office of the Surveyor General, now under the Presidency, has been mandated to work with state governors to secure parcels of land along the corridor for both public interest and return on investment.

This, he said, would boost real estate activities and generate funds for the government, adding that the highway will serve as “a catalyst for regional integration, linking Lagos to Cross River through Ogun, Ondo, and Akwa Ibom, while connecting to other major federal road networks.”

He said the section of the road already constructed is not damaged as rumoured, stating, “There is no damage to any of the completed works of Section 1. What you see is massive sand filling, which the rains actually help us to consolidate.”

According to him, “HITECH, the contractor handling the project, has already delivered 20 kilometres in Section 1, with an additional 10 kilometres underway, while Section 2 has recorded over 12 kilometres of work, including more than 10 kilometres of concrete pavement.”

Umahi described HITECH as “development partners” who have maintained competitive costs below the amount quoted by other firms.