The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has disclosed that construction on key sections of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has exceeded 40 per cent completion, insisting that the project is progressing faster than anticipated and has not been abandoned.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is moving and moving even faster than envisaged,” Umahi stated while providing an update on the progress of the multibillion-naira infrastructure project to the State House journalists shortly after meeting the President.
According to the minister, more than 40 per cent of the work has been completed on Sections 3A and 3B, covering approximately 75 kilometres along the Cross River and Akwa Ibom axis. He also disclosed that the section at the Calabar end of the highway had recorded over 40 per cent completion.
Umahi said the 47.47-kilometre first section in Lagos was under full construction, while Section Two, covering 55 kilometres, was expected to be ready by the middle of November.
He added that Sections 4A and 4B, covering 65 kilometres across Ogun and Ondo states, were also under construction, while the 62.5-kilometre section in Akwa Ibom had recorded more than 20 per cent progress.
The minister stressed that the highway remained on course, dismissing concerns over its status and assuring that preparatory activities were ongoing along the remaining sections.
“Nobody has abandoned the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway,” he said.
Umahi disclosed that designers and surveyors were assessing the alignments in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states to advance work on the coastal corridor.
He further revealed that the Federal Government had sought President Bola Tinubu’s approval to incorporate approximately 400 kilometres of the East-West Road, extending through Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, into the broader infrastructure development plan.
According to him, the proposed intervention would improve connectivity along the coastal route, particularly as parts of the existing East-West Road had suffered damage from flooding.
The minister cited incidents in Delta and Edo states, noting that some sections of the road had been damaged and required attention.
Umahi also explained that the President had directed that major legacy road projects should commence from both ends to accelerate construction and delivery.
He said the administration was similarly expanding its northern road infrastructure programme by incorporating additional routes into the existing legacy projects.
The minister maintained that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway remained intact, with construction and surveying activities continuing across the corridor as the Federal Government pursues its broader infrastructure development agenda.