FG has no regrets over Lagos-Calabar coastal highway decisions – Umahi

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, says the federal government has no regrets over decisions taken on the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

Mr Umahi stated this in Abuja on Wednesday while giving an update on the federal government’s legacy road projects, particularly the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

He said the decisions concerning the Ondo section were based on sound engineering considerations and aimed at ensuring the successful delivery of the project.

The minister said the Ondo section had attracted petitions alleging diversion of the project, but maintained that the ministry’s decision to realign the route was necessary because of the difficult terrain.

According to him, the ministry carefully assessed the terrain before deciding to alter the alignment of the road in order to overcome significant construction challenges.

“We have no regret for decisions taken at Ondo. For us, it is their right to write a petition; it is my right to take the right decision.

“When people subject me to public scrutiny by asking me what is the cost per kilometre, you want me to pass through a terrain that has over 100 metres of pits deep with no defined sharp sand to 300 metres.

“Yet you expect the cost of one kilometre of route passing through a normal terrain to be the same cost with that?” he asked.

He said the ministry had therefore redesigned the route to avoid deep pits and other difficult terrain, adding that filling work in the affected area was almost completed.

Mr Umahi explained that the construction process involved removing pits of more than 10 metres deep and filling them with sharp sand before the actual road construction could proceed.

He said the engineering intervention was necessary to provide a stable foundation for the highway and ensure the durability of the road infrastructure.

The minister described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as President Bola Tinubu’s first legacy project, saying it runs from Victoria Island in Lagos through Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.

He disclosed that Section One of the highway, covering 47.47 kilometres, had been fully completed and was ready for commissioning.

He added that Section Two, covering 55 kilometres, would have its pavement completed by November, while construction of major flyovers, underpasses and overpasses would continue.

Mr Umahi attributed some delays in the construction of the flyovers to extensive subsoil investigations, redesigns and the need to accommodate heavy trucks serving the Dangote Refinery.

He said the ministry had also redesigned a major flyover to resolve a conflict involving the deep-sea port railway, refinery service routes and other road networks.

On Sections 4A and 4B, the minister said the project covered 67 kilometres, comprising 27 kilometres in Ogun State and about 40 kilometres in Ondo State.

He said construction work was ongoing on the Ondo portion, adding that the project would terminate around the Ondo-Edo axis.

Mr Umahi disclosed that more than 30 per cent of the 65-kilometre Sections 3A and 3B had been completed, describing the project as “very beautiful” because it connects existing roads and routes.

He also said construction work was ongoing on Section Five in Akwa Ibom State, covering about 82 kilometres.

The minister said President Tinubu had approved the continuation of the coastal highway through the existing East-West Road rather than creating a new alignment from Ondo into Edo.

He described the decision as one of the president’s “wonderful engineering decisions,” saying it would address recurring flooding along the route.

“We now have to raise the East-West Road in many locations by two metres, so that we will be above the present flood level and also expected climate change,” Mr Umahi said.

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He said the Benin bypass, covering 45 kilometres, would eliminate the need for motorists to pass through the congested Benin City urban centre, thereby reducing travel time and boosting economic activities in the city.

Mr Umahi also announced that the 129-kilometre Delta section, from the Edo-Delta boundary to the Delta-Bayelsa boundary, was undergoing route survey and procurement and would commence by November, subject to the completion of due process.

The minister said the federal government was also progressing with other legacy projects, including the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Highway, Trans-Sahara route and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road.

He added that the Ilela section of the Sokoto-Badagry Highway was about 60 per cent completed despite security challenges, while the 258-kilometre Kebbi section and 62.35-kilometre Badagry section had recorded more than 40 per cent progress.

He said the government was also implementing the Trans-Sahara project linking the South-east, North-central and other parts of the country.

He explained that the legacy projects were structured as investment projects with the federal government providing 30 per cent counterpart funding in naira and 70 per cent coming from external financing.

Mr Umahi said returns on the projects would be generated through tolling and other investments within the corridors, including industrial, tourism, housing and agricultural developments.

(NAN)