Tinubu’s Govt Initiated Only Two New Highways, Others Were Inherited – Umahi

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is constructing only two entirely new federal highways, while prioritising the completion of abandoned and inherited road projects across the country.

Umahi disclosed this during an inspection of Sections 1, 2 and parts of Section 4A of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, including the Ondo State axis, stressing that the Federal Government aimed at completing ongoing projects before embarking on new ones.

According to the minister, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway are the only completely new road projects initiated by the current administration.

“We have continued old projects before the commencement of new ones. This administration is constructing only two entirely new roads: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway. Every other road project we are executing involves abandoned or neglected projects,” Umahi said.

He maintained that the highway would transform transportation, commerce and economic activities across the coastal states while opening up new opportunities for investment and development.

Umahi, also dismissed claims that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway was diverted away from Ondo State, insisting that the alignment of the project was determined by engineering realities and not by the interests of private estate owners.

“This is to put an end to the rumour that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not pass through Ondo State. The alignment we are implementing today is based on sound engineering considerations and not on the interests of any individual,” he said.

The minister explained that soil tests carried out along the original coastal alignment discovered peat deposits extending between 40 and 50 metres deep in some locations, making construction extremely expensive and technically difficult.

“Lagos-Calabar Highway is not a bad investment project. This project is the most prudent project I have ever seen. The Niger Delta people should defend this project because of the enormous economic and social benefits it will bring to the region,” he stated.

He disclosed that construction is progressing across several sections of the coastal corridor, with Section One already completed, while work continues on other segments stretching through Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

Officials of Hitech Construction Company in charge informed the minister that the company is working towards completing the coastal highway project by 2028, while projections indicate that motorists travelling between Lagos and Ondo could spend less than two hours on the journey when major sections become operational, compared with the current travel time of about seven hours.

Earlier, the Engineering Representative on the project, Engineer Martins Ayodele, said significant progress had been recorded on the Ondo State section of the highway.

According to him, four dredgers have already been mobilised to site, with a fifth expected soon, while filling operations and stone-base construction are ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo, welcomed the project but appealed to the Federal Government to address the challenge of coastal erosion and sea incursion affecting communities in the area.

“We are optimistic that this Coastal Highway will provide solutions to our road challenges. However, we want to call the attention of Mr President to the sea incursion in the Ayetoro community. We are concerned that the road being constructed today should not be threatened by flooding and erosion in the future,” the monarch said. (Daily trust)