Umahi Reveals Lack of Design for Lagos-Calabar Highway

David Umahi, the Minister of Works, revealed that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway lacks a single comprehensive engineering design, more than two years after construction began in March 2024. He explained that the project is being designed and costed in separate sections rather than under one master design.

This disclosure raises questions about the project's overall cost, construction process, and the government's ability to complete it. Umahi defended the cost of the first section, stating that one standard carriageway would cost approximately $5.5 million per kilometre.

He emphasized that the absence of a single design complicates the calculation of the total financial commitment for the highway. The project has been in conception since 1955, with the concept gazetted in 2006.

Umahi stated he found no complete engineering design or detailed technical documents in the ministry's archives, indicating that designs are developed for individual sections based on environmental assessments and soil investigations.