Umahi, Engineers Differ On Diversion Of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

Construction and civil engineering senior workers have expressed concern over the sudden diversion of the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, abandoning the initial design.

Minister of Works Engr. David Umahi had revealed that the highway would be diverted around Ondo section which is about 40 kilometres to join the East West road due to difficult terrain.

The minister had in a recent engagement with journalists in Abuja said,

“The Lagos-Calabar Coast Highway, you have about 40 kilometers in Ondo section, that section is going on. I’m aware of petitions against me saying I diverted the Ondo section. I welcome that. That is how it’s supposed to be, because we are serving the public. You are subject to public scrutiny, but the important thing is whether you are doing the right thing or you’re doing the wrong thing, you know.

“We have no regret for decisions taken at Ondo. For us, it’s your right to write a petition. It’s my right to take the right decision, because when people subject me to public scrutiny by asking me what is the cost per kilometer, and you want me to pass through, you know, a terrain that you have over 100 meters of pits deep, and I have no defined sharp sand to 300 meters, and you expect the cost of one kilometer of route passing through a normal terrain to be the same cost with that.

So we had to do very serious engineering decision, and that’s by making a detour, redesigning it to avoid such, you know, route. We are happy that work is going on.”

This came amid persistent questions over the project’s overall cost, construction process, environmental approvals and the government’s capacity to complete the highway.

LEADERSHIP contacted the special assistant to the minister, Mr Francis Nwaze, to verify the minister’s position but he instead directed this reporter to the minister’s interview with Arise Television.

The minister  during  the interview clarified that there was no comprehensive engineering design covering the entire highway, which the federal government has presented as one of President Bola Tinubu’s flagship infrastructure projects.

He said the Lagos-Calabar has no single engineering design, more than two years after construction began in March 2024, insisting that the project is being designed and costed section by section.

However, the president, Construction and civil engineering senior  workers association (CCESSA) Engr Ayodeji Adeyemo, lamented the sudden decision despite the destruction of properties in order to give way for the road project.

He queried the sudden change and wondered why the original design would be jettisoned after demolishing people’s businesses.

He said, “The implications are numerous and costly. It will equally lead to increase in the delivery time. More man hours are needed for the project to be completed.

“Yes, Nigerians should all be concerned. What are the defects of the original route? What necessitated the re-routing? Many private properties were destroyed to pave way for the original route, how many more properties are to be destroyed again? Is this not an economic waste? Many sources of livelihood have been destroyed.

“My advice is for the Ministry of Works to carry out detailed studies and investigations before dabbling into a project like this magnitude.”

The minister while defending the cost of the first section, said a standard carriageway comprising two lanes would cost about $5.5m per kilometre (N7.3bn), based on his comparison with a coastal highway project in neighbouring Benin Republic.

He, however, challenged the use of an estimated average cost to calculate the cost of the entire 750km highway, arguing that the terrain, bridges and engineering requirements differed across sections.

“There is no single design of any road project that came out, you know, in reality, at the end of the project, the way it was designed,” Umahi said.

Asked directly whether there was an engineering design covering the entire Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, he replied, “So these are the procedures. So there is no one single design that the 750 kilometres of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is holding. There’s no one single design.”

He explained that the highway had been conceived as far back as 1955, while the concept was gazetted in 2006. However, he maintained that he had not found a complete engineering design, subsoil investigation or other detailed technical documents covering the entire route in the ministry’s archives.

Umahi said the Federal Executive Council-approved procurement arrangement required the project to be procured section by section, adding that the approach made it inappropriate to multiply an estimated average cost by the entire 750km.

“Who fixed this N15tn that people are just, you know, brandishing everywhere? Who fixed it? And let me also clarify that nobody has the right to do an average cost and multiply by 750,” he said.

Explaining his cost comparison, Umahi referred to a 47km section of the highway and a 47.47km coastal road in Benin Republic, which he said cost N1.06tn.

He cited a figure of about N7.5bn per kilometre for a three-carriageway configuration and adjusted it to estimate the cost of a standard two-lane carriageway.

The minister put the adjusted cost at approximately $5.5m per kilometre, based on an exchange rate of N1,330 to the dollar.

He said differences in road configuration and project specifications must be considered before comparing the costs of the two projects.

On environmental approvals, Umahi confirmed that construction began after the ministry obtained a provisional Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certificate, explaining that a final certificate would follow as the project progressed and outstanding requirements were addressed.

“Every project has provisional ESIA,” he said, adding that environmental issues, resettlement and other associated programmes were considered during implementation.

He maintained that environmental assessments were being handled section by section rather than through a single assessment covering the entire 750km route. He also said the ministry had obtained final environmental approval for the first 47km section.

The highway has attracted criticism over its cost, route and environmental implications since work commenced. The government has defended it as a major transport corridor intended to improve connectivity along Nigeria’s coastline.

Umahi also clarified remarks about an additional 400km linked to the project, following questions about whether Tinubu had ordered a diversion from the original route.

The minister said the additional stretch involved connecting the coastal highway to the existing East-West Road through Edo State, rather than abandoning the original alignment.

“The alignment is intact,” he said, insisting that Edo remained part of the route involving Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

He acknowledged that describing the connection as a diversion was inaccurate, explaining that the intention was to provide a spur linking the highway to the East-West Road.

“It’s to also put a spur. The word divert, if I used that then it’s a slip of the tongue. We are talking about the connection of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, we are connecting it also to have a spur on the East-West Road,” Umahi said.

He added that the connection would provide an alternative route and support the reconstruction of the East-West Road, parts of which he said had deteriorated and fallen below flood levels.

The minister said design work on the connection was ongoing, maintaining that it should not be confused with the original 750km coastal highway.