Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with railway track: Umahi commends progress, economic prospects
Stanley Ihedigbo
Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, has commended the progress and quality of work on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which includes a railway track component.
According to the Special Adviser ( Media) to the Honourable Minister of Works, Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, during an inspection visit to Sections I and II of the project in Lagos, Umahi praised the contractor, Hitech Construction Company Ltd, for their excellent work.
Umahi stated that the project, initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will not only enhance road connectivity but also provide a railway line that will boost economic growth, create jobs, and stimulate development across the country.
The Minister noted that the railway component of the project is expected to take off in 2025.
The minister noted that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project spans 750 kilometers and is designed to connect critical economic corridors and boost the transportation ecosystem across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.
” With some sections of the project expected to be completed by May 2025, Umahi expressed confidence in the federal government’s commitment to delivering quality infrastructure and driving economic growth.
Umahi stated that the contract would be reviewed to incorporate additional features, including tree planting, lay bays, and CCTV cameras powered by solar energy.
“We’re going to plant trees. We are going to also have some lay bay. We can decide every five kilometers we have a lay bay where we connect all our CCTV cameras. And then we have vehicles and the security within the cabin there so the response time will be like 10 minutes. I’m sure that you’ve witnessed what we did at Third Mainland Bridge. That’s what we intend to replicate in all our highways. And so the entire stretch of 750 kilometers to Calabar will be under CCTV, powered by solar. And then every five kilometers or 10 or 15, as we may agree, we will have portal cabin where we have security posts, no blocking of the roads, we have a viewing centre, and then you view the entire stretch left and right. We will agree on the number of kilometers, depending on the capacity of the cameras,” he explained.
He praised the vision of Mr. President in initiating legacy projects that would connect the critical economic corridors and boost the transportation ecosystem in the 6 Geo-political Zones.
He noted that the four Renewed Hope legacy projects and the inherited ongoing projects were on course and that milestone project execution was adopted to ensure a sense of equality among the 6 Geo-Political Zones.
He further said that some of the sections of the projects being executed nationwide, including the inherited ongoing projects, would be ready for commissioning by May 2025.
“Work is progressing on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. We have the Sokoto- Badagry Superhighway. Work is seriously in progress on the project. For the first 120 km, work is going on Sokoto. It has been procured. And work is going on by Hitech, using concrete. And then, you have the Kebbi section, 250 m. Work is also going on there. And so, we believe strongly that we’ll be able to have 0 km in both sections to commission by May 29th. In section one of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in South West, we are very sure that we’ll commission the first 20 km in section one and 10 km in section two,” he stressed.
He commended the intervention of Mr. President in the area of funding of the projects despite his interventions in other critical priority sectors of the economy.
“The President has given very serious attention to road infrastructure. Don’t forget that this Coastal Highway and the four Legacy Projects all have the train track incorporated. The construction of the train track for this section is going to take off in 2025. So this is what we are doing. And we believe strongly that the President is going to give the nation of Nigeria the road infrastructure that they have been yearning for,” he explained.
These features are expected to enhance security and socio-economic benefits along the 750-kilometer stretch of the highway.
The Minister also highlighted the significance of the Renewed Hope legacy projects, initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in connecting critical economic corridors and boosting the transportation ecosystem across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Olukorede Kashia recounted the experiences encountered at the commencement of the project but expressed confidence in the timely delivery of the project by the contractor handling the project.
“We encountered a lot of issues which were not foreseen because they were covered. Like I said earlier, when you’re doing a preliminary design, you can not do a borehole at every meter. So when you do, at one meter, you do another one at 20 meters. So, in the process of executing the project, we encountered a lot of refuse dumps. It was like this place was like Olushosun, where they dump dirt to the magnitude of about five meters depth in some places. And then, the contractor carted away all that and then replaced it with good soil. That’s sand filling from the ocean, as you can see, good sand filling, and then we had to wait a little.”
Others who spoke during the event were the Acting Director of Highways Road Design, Engr. Saidu Musa and the Managing Director of Hitech Construction Company Ltd, Dany Abboud.
CHRICED condemns FG proposed 12-4 education reform as symptomatic of deeper issues
Stanley Ihedigbo Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education…