Minister of Works, David Umahi, has set May 20 as the target date for the commissioning of Section One of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, even as he decried rising cases of vandalism along the project corridor.
Speaking during a weekend inspection of the coastal route, Umahi said construction on the strategic highway linking Lagos to the South-South and South-East had intensified, with visible progress recorded despite difficult terrain.
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, the advancement on the project reflects the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to delivering transformative infrastructure.
Umahi highlighted the engineering hurdles encountered, noting that deep soil conditions with pits exceeding 20 metres had pushed technical limits but were being successfully managed.
“We do not doubt that a man who worked with a very courageous president to tame the Atlantic Ocean can always subdue the challenges we have on this coastal route.
“Well, the section where we are is not the most challenging section of this route. This is section one, chainage 34. What we are seeing here is not different from what we saw in chainage 18. From the HITECH data, the pit here is 20 meters deep, averaging 18 to 21 meters deep. At chainage 18, we had about 22 meters of pit, so HITECH conquered it.”
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The minister commended HITECH Construction Company for absorbing unexpected soil-related costs without seeking an upward review of the contract sum.
“No other contractor can bear this kind of risk. You have proven that you are not working for money, but for the success of the country,” he said.
Umahi disclosed that the 3-kilometre stretch under inspection is close to completion, with sub-filling expected to be finalised within days, allowing motorists to drive from Ahmadu Bello Way through Lekki seamlessly as work progresses toward the Dangote Refinery axis under Section Two.
“So this section, which is about 3km, I’ve been told that in the next seven days, the entire sub-filling will be done, and then the entire road will be open to traffic. So you can drive all the way from Ahmadu Bello down to Lekki without stopping.
“But this one is not passing through the rainy season, and so I now have a choice to say, you must put the concrete before the end of April, and that will be my risk, but I won’t bear that because we can’t open this project to increase the cost.
“So, what we are doing is, by March, we will do our consolidation test and see what it looks like. And by April, if we have good consolidation, then we will put our CRCP within two weeks and then commission by the 20th May.”
Beyond construction milestones, the minister expressed concern over vandalism, including the cutting of metal fences and dumping refuse into maintenance holes.
“And to address the issue of vandalization, the issue of cutting our beautiful metal fence, the issue of opening the maintenance holes and dumping refuse there, I thank the Commissioner of Police, I thank the Inspector General of Police, I thank your commitment. I’ve seen several vehicles. Anyone who is caught should be taken to court immediately. We have our seven-man SAN that will handle any litigation regarding this route.
“And for the maintenance hole, we have to find a way to temporarily seal it so that they can’t easily open it. But we have a duty to talk to our people. It is satanic for people to cut the metal fence. It is satanic for people to open the maintenance hole and dump refuse there.”
He hinted that Section Two would also be completed before year-end, with all bridges across both sections projected for delivery by April next year.
Addressing critics of the project, Umahi said: “Some people are not happy because they thought we were going to fail. They thought the president would fail. But when God brings you on board, no power can bring you down.”
