The Federal Government of Nigeria has initiated talks with Hitech Road Construction Company on the contract for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
This comes following a meeting held by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works, and the contractor’s team, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
According to Umahi, this project aims to boost connectivity across the nation and it reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the rapid development of Nigeria.
He explained that President Tinubu is eager to expedite the project’s commencement as part of his efforts to improve the country’s economy through improved mobility.
The construction will be executed as a Public Private Partnership and will be tolled upon completion, with the contractor already securing the necessary funding. Another meeting is slated for October, to ratify the construction agreements.
Umahi added that the highway of about 700km would be constructed in phases, with the completed sections being opened for use and toll collection.
The ambitious project will connect the Lagos-Badagry Expressway superhighway, the Fourth Mainland Bridge, Lekki Deep Sea Port Road, and various points in Northern Nigeria through the Ogoja-Ikom axis.
The project which is expected to stimulate tourism and include industrial clusters, such as hotels, factories, housing estates, and other amenities will also have rail lines running in the middle of the main carriageways.
According to Umahi, the innovative use of 11-inch-thick concrete roads with 20-millimetre reinforcement will not only improve local cement manufacturing, and boost steel production from Ajaokuta but also take advantage of Nigeria’s abundant bitumen resources.
“It is quite innovative and the giant of Africa is beginning to show her prowess and this is being revitalised by the captain of the ship, his excellency President Bola Tinubu.
“So, this is beautiful. Another good news is that this is going to be built on a concrete road of 11 inches thick with 20-millimeter reinforcement,” he said.
The minister however acknowledged that a combination of construction methods, including pile-supported decks, sand filling, and retaining walls, will be employed to overcome the challenges of such project since it will cut through mangroves, mashy land, flood plains, and various soil types.
In Umahi words: “And so, there will be a combination of all kinds of construction methods, the deck on pile would be there, the sand filling would be there, the retaining walls would be there. “So, it’s a very ambitious project, quite technical and highly rewarding.” The second meeting, scheduled in two weeks, will focus on the business case study, allowing the project to progress to the design phase. Umahi noted that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a groundbreaking project, the first of its kind in Africa.
“So, the second meeting will come up in two weeks where the business case study will be exposed to us, and we will give them a letter to own the project and then to engage in the design. “The Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar Coastal Highway is the first of its kind in the whole of Africa,” he said. Project significance and environmental considerations of the proposed Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway
Nicholas Rizk, the consultant to Hitech Construction Company emphasised that the project would traverse diverse topographical areas and include nine states along its route.
The highway will connect regions at both the national and international levels, serving as a vital link between South West, South East, South-South, Niger Delta, and other regions.
It will also integrate with existing federal roads, promoting economic and social development across the country.
In Rizk’s words: “We are connecting nine states and this road.
“In addition to the integration at the national level for Southwest and Southeast, South-South and Niger Delta, it connects with the Federal Roads going from Lagos to Sokoto. “From Warri to Kaduna, from Port Harcourt to Kano-Maiduguri, and from Calabar to Maiduguri. “So as the Minister mentioned, we have this coastal highway that is more or less 10 to 12 kilometres away from the shorelines to consider the issue of erosion and the sensitive environmental areas.”
Starting at Victoria Island near Eko Atlantic City, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will pass through the Lekki Coastal Road, Lekki Free Trade Zone, and the Dangote Refinery, connecting Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, and reaching Calabar.