The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi said yesterday that the Federal Government will recoup its investment on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project through 15 years of tolling.
He also said the N4b per kilometer road will be ready in eight years, adding that motorists will pay N3,000 per toll gate.
He said contrary to the misleading N8 billion per kilometer given by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the standard gauge design of the road adopted by the Federal government would cost N4.59b per kilometer.
The Minister said the former design by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not comprehensive, stressing that it was replaced by the standard gauge design that has multiple features of bridges, till plazas, and economic settlements among others.
However, Atiku yesterday maintained that the project is a fraud, chiding Umahi for claiming that the coastal highway will tentatively cost N15.6 trillion.
Atiku also criticised Umahi for altering the initial plan of the project, alleging that it was also awarded to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without any competitive bidding.
Umahi, who spoke on a live television programme in Lagos, debunked allegations that the project was awarded to the company out of favouritism.
He said the award followed the due process outlined in the Procurement Act, with considerations given to capacity, competence, and track record as mandated by law.
He alluded to Hitech’s successful projects like Eko Atlantic, which involved controlling the ocean, and previous concrete pavement road projects, saying that the company has a track record.
On the scope of the project, Umahi said: “We’re looking at 700 kilometers with two spurs, one from the Badagary section going to Sokoto and the other African Trans Sahara trade route from Enugu to Abakaliki, Ogoja, Calabar going to Cameroun.
“Phase 1 of 700 kilometers that comes in multiple sections. Section 1 is starting from Zero Point and up from Ahmadu Below Way to Lekki Deep Seaport, which is 47.47 kilometers.
“We have Section 2 that we have already procured. It has been approved by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) waiting to be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and that is about 55 kilometers, running from Lekki Deep Seaport going into the border between Ogun and Ondo States.
“We are finalizing the design of Section 3 which is from the end of the project in Calabar, rolling towards Akwa Ibom that is about 65 kilometers.
“So, multiple sections will also come up as we go along but each of these sections, like Section 1 is 36-month duration but it’s going to run independent of Section 2.
“Section 2 is going to run independent of Section 3. That is how the road is going to be? And how long it’s to take, by God’s grace, within eight years of this administration. But the first phase we’re talking about should finish before 2027. 36 months is projected but Hightech is going to complete it before then.”
