Umahi Reveals No Comprehensive Design for Lagos-Calabar Highway

David Umahi, the Minister of Works, disclosed that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway does not have a single comprehensive engineering design, more than two years after construction commenced in March 2024. He stated that the project is being designed and costed section by section, which is a departure from typical practices.

Umahi emphasized that there is no overarching engineering design for the entire highway, which is a key infrastructure project under President Bola Tinubu's administration. He defended the cost of the first section, estimating that a standard two-lane carriageway would cost approximately $5.5 million per kilometre.

Umahi noted that the highway concept dates back to 1955 and was gazetted in 2006, but he has not found complete engineering designs or detailed documents in the ministry's archives. He criticized the notion of using an average cost to estimate the total project cost, highlighting the need for individual assessments based on terrain and engineering requirements.