By Abimbola Ogunnaike
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, 26 May, 2024 officially flagged off the 700Km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, estimated to cost about N15 trillion.
Tinubu, who cut the tape at exactly 6:03pm in Lagos State, was flanked by Minister of Works, Dave Umahi; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; and about eight governors, including the Chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
In his speech, the President said “it’s my bragging day”, while highlighting ten benefits of the superhighway project which cuts across eight states.
“It’s my bragging day. We will do this road. We are determined to do it,” Tinubu said.
The Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, designed to stretch 700 kilometres and pass through nine states, was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement, where the bulk of the risk falls on the contractor, and the federal government provides counterpart funding.
The Federal Government commenced the construction in March 2024, beginning with the first phase of the project, which stretches 47.47 kilometres from Lagos.
The project has earned the FG criticism from major opposition leaders like the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi.
