Umahi: Cost of 750km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Unknown, Alleged N15tn Value Unfounded
Says no single design for project, fixes next 3 years for completion
Group seeks more accountability from works minister
FG inaugurates 30.58-km section of Abuja–Kano expressway
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, at the weekend said the total cost of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway remains undetermined, describing the N15 trillion figure widely cited for the project as false.
Umahi, who spoke in an interview on Arise Television, said the federal government was procuring the highway in sections, with the cost of each determined by the terrain, soil conditions, bridges and other engineering requirements.
He challenged those citing N15 trillion as the total cost to explain how the figure was arrived at, insisting that it was wrong to calculate an average cost per kilometre from one section and multiply it by the entire 750 kilometres.
“Who fixed this N15 trillion that people are just brandishing everywhere? Who fixed it?” he asked, arguing that engineering costs could not be determined through generalised calculations without detailed designs for the different sections.
The minister’s comments come amid a prolonged controversy over the cost, procurement process and transparency of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of President Bola Tinubu’s flagship infrastructure projects.
The highway has attracted scrutiny over the scale of public expenditure involved, the award of construction contracts and the basis for determining its overall cost. Critics have questioned whether the government can provide a clear estimate for the entire project.
The debate has also centred on the project’s route, land acquisition and the potential environmental and economic implications of building a major highway along Nigeria’s coastline. The government has defended the project as a strategic transport corridor intended to improve connectivity and support economic activity.
But Umahi said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was first mentioned in 1955, while a concept for the project was developed in 2006. However, he said he had not found any comprehensive engineering design, subsoil investigation or gazetted documents covering the entire route in the archives of the Federal Ministry of Works.
“So it is very wrong for anybody to say, give me the cost of the project. Because there must be engineering dissection in every section that you are going through,” he said.
Umahi explained that each section must undergo environmental and social impact assessment, subsoil investigation and engineering design before its construction cost could be established.
He said the environmental assessment helped determine the proposed route, ecological implications and potential challenges, while soil investigations and engineering designs provided the technical basis for determining the scope and cost of construction.
The minister maintained that the government had obtained environmental certificates for the sections being procured, adding that the assessments and reviews were conducted before the relevant projects proceeded.
“There is no one single design that the 750 kilometres of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is holding,” he said.
Umahi also defended the cost of the first section of the highway, arguing that comparisons with other coastal roads were misleading when differences in design and carriageway specifications were ignored.
He cited a 47-kilometre stretch under Section One, which he said cost N1.06 trillion, and explained that the six-lane configuration meant its cost could not be directly compared with that of a conventional two-lane carriageway.
According to him, dividing the cost by the length of the section and adjusting for the carriageway configuration produced an estimated cost of about N7.3 billion per standard two-lane carriageway kilometre, equivalent to approximately $5.5 million at an exchange rate of N1,330 to the dollar.
He said the cost of other sections would depend on their individual engineering requirements, noting that Section Two, covering 55 kilometres, included 19 bridges despite having terrain that was more than 70 per cent similar to that of the first section.
Umahi argued that such variations made it inappropriate to extrapolate the cost of one section across the entire highway.
Besides, Umahi stated that the highway will be completed in the next three years, and expressed confidence that the federal government would deliver the full stretch of the highway despite the enormous engineering challenges presented by sections of the route through the Niger Delta.
“I believe that within the next three years plus, the President will complete the project. We already have five sections running. We’re only left with Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and Edo. We have done five out of nine. These five are within two years plus, even though sections one, three and five are still ongoing,” he explained.
Also, ‘Common Good Letter,’ published by activist, David Ugolor, while acknowledging Umahi’s clarification during the interview, said the ministry should now translate that assurance into published maps, defined project scopes and implementation schedules.
“The minister’s explanation of the highway’s design and costing arrangements raises substantial accountability questions…Sectional delivery requires a coherent plan showing how the sections connect, what commitments the government has approved, how costs will be controlled and when the public can expect a functioning corridor. Nigerians should be able to examine that plan,“ Ugolor said.
He also raised questions as to what approved corridor plan guides the entire highway, which sections have completed engineering designs, soil investigations and independent technical reviews, and which remain under development.
“Where exactly will the coastal highway and East–west Road connect? Does the announced additional 400 kilometres represent reconstruction of existing roads, new connecting roads, or a combination? Please publish maps, section boundaries and distances to clarify the relationship between these commitments.
“What is the aggregate value of contracts awarded so far, including variations, supervision and compensation? What provisional estimate or cost range guides planning for the remaining sections, and what assumptions and uncertainties underpin it?
“Will the ministry publish the relevant FEC approvals, procurement method and justification for each award, applicable BPP clearances, contract sums and contractor obligations? How are independent assessments of value for money undertaken and disclosed? he asked.
Meanwhile, the federal government has commissioned an outstanding 30.58 kilometres of road works along the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria-Kano expressway.The ceremony was performed by the Governor, Abba Yusuf, on behalf of the President.
At the event, Umahi explained that substantial portions of the expressway remained unfinished when the present administration assumed office, following challenges associated with escalating costs and a slow pace of construction, which led to the termination of the previous contract.
According to the Minister, the President also directed that the Kano section of the expressway be extended to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, disclosing that Lot 1 of the project, covering 118 kilometres at an estimated cost of N252 billion, had been completed.
He also highlighted the administration’s adoption of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) technology on substantial portions of the road to improve durability, reduce maintenance requirements, and ensure better value for public investment.
For his part, Governor Yusuf said the road would strengthen transportation links, support commercial activities, improve accessibility and facilitate the movement of people and goods within Kano and neighbouring States.
The governor described the road as an important development for Kano State and the wider North-west Zone, commending the federal government for intervening to ensure that the outstanding road works were completed rather than abandoned.
