₦airaland Forum

FG to begin train track construction on Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Section 1 in 2025

The Federal Government plans to begin constructing train tracks on Section I of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in 2025.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, made this announcement during an inspection of Sections I and II of the project, which are located within Lagos and being handled by Hitech Construction Company Ltd, on Friday, December 20, 2024.

The details of the announcement were published in a statement on the ministry’s official website on Saturday.

“The President has given very serious attention to road infrastructure. Don’t forget that this Coastal Highway and, of course, the four Legacy Projects all have the train track incorporated. The construction of the train track for this section I is going to take off in 2025,” Umahi stated.

The Works Minister outlined plans to enhance the Lagos-Calabar Highway in Sections I and II of Phase 1, including solar-powered CCTV cameras, lay-bys every 5-15 kilometers, and security posts for improved safety and monitoring.

He announced that 20 kilometers of Section 1 are scheduled for commissioning by May 2025. The Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Olukorede Kashia, noted challenges such as large refuse dumps and unsuitable soil conditions requiring extensive remediation during the project.

What you should know

The Ministry of Works did not address the plans to reduce lanes from 10 to six for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in its latest statement.

However, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), covering Friday’s inspection of Sections I and II of Phase 1 of the project, reported that Works Minister David Umahi confirmed the decision to reduce the lanes from 10 to six as part of efforts to revise the project’s scope and cut costs.

This revision is part of ongoing efforts to ensure the project remains financially viable, sustainable, and within budget, while maximizing its long-term impact.

The 700-kilometer highway, which spans nine states, aims to improve connectivity and drive economic growth along Nigeria’s coastline, particularly benefiting key trade corridors and regional development.

⚫️The route begins at Victoria Island near Eko Atlantic City and traverses the Lekki Coastal Road, Lekki Free Trade Zone, and Dangote Refinery, connecting Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, and Calabar in Cross River.

⚫️The initial design includes 10 lanes, with rail lines running through the center of the main carriageways and features innovative 11-inch-thick concrete roads reinforced with 20-millimeter steel.

⚫️Hitech Construction Company was selected as the contractor under the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) model, with the company assuming most of the financial responsibility while the Federal Government provides counterpart funding.

⚫️Construction began in March 2024 on the first phase, covering 47.7 kilometers in Lagos, starting from Ahmadu Bello Way, and is expected to be completed by May 2025.

The full highway is expected to be completed in eight years, with various sections being constructed simultaneously once procurement, approvals, and other processes are finalized.

Completed sections will be opened for use and toll collection in phases, contributing to infrastructure development and regional economic growth.

Federal Ministry of Works

SEN. UMAHI COMMENDS WORK PROGRESS ON LAGOS-CALABAR COASTAL HIGHWAY PROJECT, RECOUNTS PROSPECTS OF RENEWED HOPE LEGACY PROJECTS TO NATION'S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.

-SAYS, PROJECT REVIEW ON AWARDED SECTIONS OF THE COASTAL HIGHWAY IMMINENT TO FACTOR ADJUSTMENT IN ALIGNMENT AND DELIVERABLES

The progress and quality of work being done on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project has been commended as a signature of excellence and innovation on road infrastructure development by the Renewed Hope administration of the President of Nigeria, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

This commendation was made by the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON, when he paid inspection visits to Sections I and II of the project in Lagos being handled by Hitech Construction Company Ltd on 20th December 2024.

Speaking on the deliverables of the investment, the Honourable Minister stated that the contract would be reviewed to accommodate landmark features that would add value to the socio-economic potentials of the project.

"We're going to plant trees. And of course, we are going to also have some lay bay. We can decide every five kilometres 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 that 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."

On the imperative of the contract review, he further stated," The service lane was never envisaged, CCTV camera was never envisaged. There was no single item of work, like we're having in all the projects from the removal of topsoil, not to talk of the removal of debris.

He praised the vision of Mr. President in initiating legacy projects that would connect the critical economic corridors and boost 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 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 Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. We have the Sokoto- Badagry Superhighway. Work is seriously in progress on the project. 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 km. Work is also going on there. And so, we believe strongly that we'll be able to have about 20 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 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, of course, the four Legacy Projects all have the train track incorporated. The construction of the train track for this section I 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."

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 really covered. Like I said earlier, when you're doing a preliminary design, you cannot 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 has 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

helinues:
Very good

Ahead ahead Nigeria

AntiChristian:


Make them finish am quick...I want to go to Calabar and return same day without stress!

Paraman:
Watch as this news go make obidients angry and wail