The federal government has stated that it is withholding compensation payments to affected property owners on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project due to realignment and alterations in the initial plan.
The minister of works, Dave Umahi disclosed this during his inspection of ongoing work on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and other road projects, including those in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Dangote Tax Credit Route, and Eleko, among other areas, on Saturday in Lagos.
The minister stated that to address the compensation issues affecting various critical infrastructure, the government had reduced the entire corridor from Phase Two, Section Two of the coastal route to effective pavements of 55km, including the 10 train tracks.
He said government had so far released approximately N10 billion in compensation.
Umahi said; “We are going to withhold compensation payment from Kilometre 7 because we have re-routed some of the sections, like the White Sand Beach.
“I know the indigenes have been praying very well. I think God has answered their prayers because we have also compressed the corridor to 55 effective pavements with 10 train tracks.
“We reduced the 10 tracks from 55 to 20, and we are taking it back also towards the beginning of this project.”
Umahi said the rerouting of the project will lead to the safety of many underground cables in the country.
He also revealed that other properties would be saved as the construction is now realigned to mostly swampy areas.
According to Umahi, payment of compensation would continue only after a review of the affected properties along the highway.
“For Section 2, we are going to have brand new enumerators so that they will also give us their opinions.
“We saved all those cables and saved the whole community of Okunaja by not only re-routing but re-routing entirely through a swamp.
LEADERSHIP reports that in March, the federal government started constructing the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, designed to pass through nine states with two spurs leading to the Northern States.
This was disclosed by Umahi during the official handover of the first phase, which includes a 47.47-kilometre dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Ltd.
Government started a compensation process for affected customers in May.
The first phase of the compensation amounted to N2.7 billion and it included 10 property owners along the highway project.
