The federal government has renamed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as the President Bola Tinubu Coastal Highway, citing the President’s role in conceiving the project more than 27 years ago.
Works Minister Dave Umahi announced the new name to reporters in Abuja on Thursday. He said the decision followed consultations with the leadership of the Ministry of Works and was meant to recognise Tinubu’s vision for the project during his time as Lagos State governor.
“That project is a beauty to behold. That highway is named President Bola Tinubu Coastal Highway. That’s what we have named the entire coastal highway,” Umahi said.
Umahi defended the procurement process after criticism that the contract was not put to open bidding. He said the Public Procurement Act allows special procurement for highly specialised engineering works, and that Hitech Construction Company was selected because of its technical capacity. The process, he added, was approved by both the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council.
He also dismissed claims linking the project to recent flooding in parts of Lagos. Findings from a joint inspection, according to Umahi, show the road is actually shielding nearby communities by acting as a barrier against ocean surge. Communities on the seaward side remain vulnerable, he said, because they face the Atlantic directly, not because of the highway.
The minister said work is ongoing on more than 360km of the 750km highway across different sections.
- Section 1: 47.47km from Victoria Island to the Lekki corridor. Work is advancing steadily.
- Section 2: 55km to the Lagos-Ogun border. About 60 percent complete and expected to reach substantial completion before the end of November.
- Section 3 (Cross River): Roughly 30 percent complete.
- Section 4 (Cross River): About 20 percent complete.
- Section 5: Approximately 180km. Work has started even though contractors have not yet received mobilisation funds.
Umahi also said international financial institutions have shown interest in funding the first two sections beyond the current funding threshold.
Other priority projects
The minister gave updates on other roads. Construction continues on the 1,068km Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway. The President has approved the reconstruction of the Ado-Ekiti-Iyin-Aramoko-Itawure Road linking Ekiti and Osun states, and the completion of the Ado-Ijan-Ilumoba-Ikole Road with reinforced concrete pavement.
He said more than 80 percent of funding for the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Highway has been released, with work progressing, while emergency repairs are ongoing on the Abuja-Lokoja Road. The 260km Makurdi-9th Mile Road, valued at about $959 million, is over 70 percent complete.
To build local capacity, Umahi disclosed that the ministry has begun recruiting young Nigerian engineers to work alongside contractors on major projects.
