• Seeks Tinubu’s approval for 400km East-West Road integration
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has insisted that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway remains intact and cannot be altered, assuring Nigerians that construction is progressing across several states.
Umahi, speaking to State House Correspondents after briefing President Bola Tinubu, said surveyors and designers were currently assessing the highway’s alignment in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, while work continued on sections already under construction.
“Nobody has abandoned the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. In fact, as we are talking now, we have designers. We have surveyors. We are surveying the axis of Edo State, we are surveying the axis of Delta State, we are surveying the axis of Bayelsa, and then Rivers,” he said.
He added: “The 750 coastal highway is intact and cannot be changed, and nobody has the powers to change it, because it is already designed and it is ongoing.”
The minister also disclosed that his ministry had sought President Bola Tinubu’s approval to integrate an additional 400 kilometres of the East-West Road, stretching from Edo State through the Niger Delta to Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
According to him, the proposed extension would improve connectivity across the region and complement the coastal highway.
Umahi explained that parts of the East-West Road were constructed below flood level, leaving some sections vulnerable to flooding and damage.
He cited damage to sections around Abaro in Delta State about three weeks ago, saying the state governor intervened to address the situation. He added that similar problems had occurred in Edo State.
The proposed 400-kilometre integration is awaiting presidential approval.
Giving an update on the coastal highway, Umahi said the 147.47-kilometre Section One in Lagos was under construction, while Section Two, measuring 55 kilometres on each carriageway, was expected to be ready by the middle of November.
He said Sections 3A and 3B, covering about 75 kilometres in the Cross River and Akwa Ibom areas, had recorded more than 40 per cent completion.
Sections 4A and 4B, covering 65 kilometres along the Ogun and Ondo axis, were also under construction, with work extending into Ondo State.
At the Calabar end, the minister said more than 40 per cent of the project had been completed, while Section Five, covering 62.5 kilometres in Akwa Ibom State, had recorded over 20 per cent completion.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is moving and moving even faster than envisaged,” he said.
Umahi added that the government was preparing to construct service lanes as part of efforts to improve the highway’s accessibility and functionality.
He attributed the project’s implementation strategy to Tinubu’s directive that major legacy road projects should commence from both ends.
The minister also disclosed that the President had expanded the scope of another set of legacy road projects in the North.
According to him, the projects, initially covering about 700 kilometres along the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri corridor, had been expanded to include an additional route through Langtang and Wukari, bringing their combined length to approximately 1,100 kilometres.
Umahi maintained that the expansion of the northern road projects would not affect the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which he said remained fully designed and under construction along its designated alignment.