The Federal Government has dismissed reports that President Bola Tinubu ordered the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to be discontinued at Edo State in favour of the East-West Road, saying the reconstruction of the latter is an additional project. The Ministry of Works said the 400-kilometre stretch of the East-West Road…...
The Federal Government has dismissed reports that President Bola Tinubu ordered the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to be discontinued at Edo State in favour of the East-West Road, saying the reconstruction of the latter is an additional project.
The Ministry of Works said the 400-kilometre stretch of the East-West Road from Edo to Cross River State would be reconstructed alongside the 750-kilometre dualised Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The Director of Highway Bridges and Design at the ministry, Engr. Musa Saidu, stated this in a disclaimer issued on the directive of the Minister of Works.
“At no time did Mr President directed that the 750km dualized Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway be discontinued to East West road from Edo state rather 400km of East West road from Edo to Cross River State is an additional route to be reconstructed along side with the 750km dualized Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway,” the statement said.
Saidu explained that the East-West Road required reconstruction because parts of it were below flood level due to climate change and had severely damaged pavement.
He, however, maintained that the additional project would not affect the completion of the coastal highway as originally planned.
READ ALSO: Umahi Decries Vandalism of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
“ This additional project which is the reconstruction of East West road is presently below flood level due to climate change and whose pavement is badly damaged will not affect the the complete construction of the entire 750 km dualized Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway as initially proposed,” the statement added.
The ministry said construction was ongoing on five sections of the coastal highway within the Niger Delta region.
It listed Sections 3A and 3B, covering 75 kilometres across Cross River and Akwa Ibom states; Sections 4A and 4B, covering 65 kilometres across Ogun and Ondo states; and Section 5, covering 62 kilometres in Akwa Ibom State.
Read Also
According to the statement, surveying and design work is also ongoing on the remaining sections of the highway, running from the end of the Ondo axis through Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states to connect with Section 5 in Akwa Ibom.
The ministry said procurement and construction would begin on the remaining sections once the survey and design work had been completed, starting from the end of the Ondo axis.
It compared the additional East-West Road reconstruction to another extension approved by Tinubu under the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri legacy road project.
The statement said the President had approved an additional 410-kilometre Wukari-Langtang route, increasing the planned dualised length of the legacy project from 700 kilometres to 1,100 kilometres.
It stressed that the additional routes would not alter the original alignments or affect work on the existing projects.
“All sections of the Legacy Projects are ongoing as proposed and the additional projects will not affect the performances of the original alignment nor will it change it,” the statement said.
The ministry urged Nigerians to disregard reports suggesting that the coastal highway had been discontinued or realigned away from its original route.
“The public is invited to please ignore any misinformation on the committed efforts of Mr President to deliver these projects as planned,” the statement added.