Minister of Works David Umahi confirmed that the 750‑kilometre Lagos‑Calabar Coastal Highway remains intact and cannot be altered, assuring Nigerians that construction is progressing across several states.
Speaking to State House correspondents after briefing President Bola Tinubu, Umahi 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 also disclosed that his ministry had sought the president’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. The proposed extension would improve regional connectivity and complement the coastal highway, Umahi explained.
Umahi warned 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, and noted similar problems had occurred in Edo. The 400‑kilometre integration is awaiting presidential approval.
On the coastal highway, Umahi said Section One in Lagos, measuring 147.47 km, was under construction, while Section Two, 55 km on each carriageway, was expected to be ready by mid‑November. Sections 3A and 3B, covering about 75 km in Cross River and Akwa Ibom, had recorded more than 40 % completion. Sections 4A and 4B, 65 km along the Ogun and Ondo axes, were also under construction, with work extending into Ondo State. At the Calabar end, more than 40 % of the project had been completed, and Section Five, 62.5 km in Akwa Ibom, had recorded over 20 % 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 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 president had also expanded the scope of another set of legacy road projects in the North, increasing the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri corridor from about 700 km to roughly 1,100 km by adding a route through Langtang and Wukari. Umahi maintained that this expansion would not affect the Lagos‑Calabar Coastal
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
