FG awards Lagos-Calabar coastal highway contract

The federal government has awarded the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to Hitech Road Construction Company.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this during a meeting in Lagos with engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works and the contractor’s team.

Umahi stated that the project which would be constructed in phases reflected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s strong commitment to Nigeria’s restoration and rapid development.

He said the project would be executed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and will be tolled upon completion, with the contractor already securing the necessary funding.

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The proposed route will link the Lagos-Badagry Expressway superhighway, the Fourth Mainland Bridge, Lekki Deep Sea Port Road, and connect various points in Northern Nigeria via Ogoja-Ikom.

The project, with an initial design length of approximately 650 to 700 kilometres, will also feature rail lines running in the middle of the main carriageways.

Umahi revealed that the project is expected to stimulate tourism and include industrial clusters, such as hotels, factories, housing estates, and other amenities.

However, the minister acknowledged that the project would encounter challenges due to its passage through mangroves, mashy areas, flood plains, and various soil types.

“The Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar coastal highway is the first of its kind in the whole of Africa,” he said.

The consultant to Hitech, Nicholas Rizk, said the project would traverse diverse topographical areas and benefit nine states along its route.

“It connects with the federal roads going from Lagos to Sokoto, Warri to Kaduna; Port Harcourt to Kano-Maiduguri; and Calabar to Maiduguri.