April 14, (THEWILL)- The 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a very important project that will benefit Nigerians on completion and therefore needs all the support from Nigerians.
Estimated to gulp a whopping N15.36 trillion or N4.39 billion per kilometre, tentatively, the Legacy Project, which is planned to be delivered within eight years, is the first of its kind, not only in the country but also in the entire West African sub-region and perhaps, Africa. The construction of the first phase of the super highway covering about 47.47km, starting from Lagos, has been awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited.
The beauty of the project designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom before culminating in Cross River, is the incorporation of a railway network along the route as it would provide an alternative to users who might want to go by rail.
For now, the Federal Government has assured that it will pay compensation to all genuine property owners along the route as the highway will be passing through nine states, even as it has extended the time for eviction of those within the right of way of the project.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, who gave the assurance recently at a stakeholders’ meeting, said President Bola Tinubu had approved the payment of compensation to all affected property owners and residents who meet the necessary requirements and conditions listed by his ministry.
On the timeline for the multi-billion Naira project, the Minister said: ”The first 47 kilometres will be completed in 36 months, but with what they have done so far, I won’t be surprised if they complete it in two years. Until we procure all the sections, we may not be able to say this is the exact time the project will be completed.”
We are however worried by the dimensions of controversy surrounding the project that is yet to take-off. This is to be expected considering the magnitude of the project, the financial outlay and the project executors, HITECH Construction Company. While shedding light on these aspects of the project which has generated public comments and doubts, Umahi said the project would be executed as a Private Public Partnership and the construction company has already sourced the funds for the project, which spoke to public doubts that the project passed through proper tender and due process: There was no competitive bidding and controversy continues to trail cost of the project and the demolition of things on its path.
While we salute the Federal Government for embarking on such a project that has social and economic import as it would connect Nigerians in the twinkle of an eye and provide room for interactions and markets on a larger scale, we are constrained to call for close monitoring and proper information to Nigerians at every stage of the project’s execution so as to ensure that all the metrics meet the expectations of the citizenry.
We therefore call for more understanding and cooperation for the project, even as we advocate genuine and sincere resolution of all contending issues and cases relating to the project, especially property and infrastructure that will be affected by the project.
The contractors should also be monitored effectively to fully deliver and timely, too, on the expectations of the government and the people of Nigeria in order for the project not to suffer the fate that befell the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
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