Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be completed in just over three years.
The minister disclosed this during an interview with Arise News on Friday, October 23, 2026.
The commitment puts the landmark infrastructure project on course for completion before 2031, potentially before the end of President Bola Tinubu’s tenure if he wins a second term.
Umahi expressed confidence that the Federal Government would deliver the entire highway despite the engineering challenges posed by sections of the route through the Niger Delta. He said construction had advanced across several sections, although work and design activities were still ongoing in some states.
Umahi Sets Three-Year Highway Completion Target
Umahi said the Federal Government had made considerable progress on five of the highway’s nine sections in just over two years, with Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and Edo still to be covered.
He said the government was confident of completing the project within the next three years and beyond, despite work continuing on some sections.
- “I believe that within the next three years plus, the President will complete the project,” Umahi said.
- “We already have five sections running. We’re only left with Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa and Edo. We have done five out of nine.”
He added that Sections One, Three and Five were still ongoing, but that sand-filling had advanced significantly, describing it as a major part of the construction process.
The minister said construction had commenced from both the Lagos and Calabar ends, with several sections awarded and work underway. However, engineering design and soil investigations were still being carried out for some sections in the Niger Delta.
Umahi said the highway was being designed, procured and constructed section by section rather than under one engineering design covering the entire 750 kilometres.
- “There is no one single design for the 750 km of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway,” he said.
Highway Design Continues Across Niger Delta
According to Umahi, the highway was initially conceived as a concept rather than a fully completed engineering design. This meant environmental assessments, soil investigations and detailed engineering work had to be carried out as individual sections were developed.
He said design work was ongoing for the Edo, Delta and Bayelsa sections, while engineering assessments of difficult terrain would determine the final route alignment, bridges and other structures required along the corridor.
- The minister outlined the sequence of construction across the highway’s sections.
- He said work had commenced on Sections One and Two in Lagos before progressing to Sections 3A and 3B in Cross River and Akwa Ibom.
- Sections 4A and 4B cover the Ogun and Ondo axis, according to the minister.
- Section Five, measuring approximately 82.35 kilometres, is entirely within Akwa Ibom State.
Umahi’s comments highlight the technical work required to deliver the coastal road across several states, particularly where soil conditions and difficult terrain influence the design and construction process.
What you should know
The minister’s latest completion commitment represents a shorter timeline than an earlier projection for the project.
In September 2024, Umahi was reportedly quoted as saying that the entire highway would take about eight years to complete after construction began in March of that year.
- Since then, construction has advanced across several sections, although work remains ongoing in some locations and design activities continue in parts of the Niger Delta.
- In July 2026, Umahi and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also dismissed claims that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was responsible for flooding in parts of Lagos, describing the allegations circulating on social media as misinformation.
- The clarification followed reports linking the highway to flooding around the Lekki axis and came during a courtesy visit by the works minister and members of the National Assembly to the Lagos governor.
- Sanwo-Olu said the highway, which some had initially dismissed as a political promise, had become a reality.
Umahi’s latest pledge places renewed focus on the government’s delivery timeline, with the completion of the remaining sections and ongoing engineering work likely to be central to meeting the target.