Minister of Works, David Umahi, has announced that President Bola Tinubu ordered the rerouting of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to safeguard subsea telecommunications cables and essential services along the coast.
He disclosed this during a question and answer segment at a stakeholder engagement meeting held at Eko Hotel, Lagos, on Sunday.
This decision came after two stakeholders submitted petitions regarding the project.
During the meeting, Umahi addressed concerns raised by a resident about a specific section of the highway, referred to as “chainage 16 to 18.” The resident highlighted that the diversion impacted an estate inhabited by Nigerians in the diaspora and local cooperatives.
Umahi acknowledged the resident’s concerns and clarified that the diversion was necessary to avoid critical infrastructure, including the MTN cable line and a nearby power station. He detailed plans for a flyover at kilometer 19 to ensure that the highway crosses above the cable line, thereby preventing any disruption.
Initially, the highway was designed to follow the coastline, which would have been more cost-effective. However, due to complaints from stakeholders about potential risks to underground installations, President Tinubu mandated the diversion to protect these assets. This adjustment has specifically affected areas like chainage 16 to 18, where the road now intersects with the estate, according to NaijaNews.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of Nigeria’s major infrastructure projects, intended to enhance connectivity and drive economic growth along the nation’s coastline.
“Why I’m here is because of chainage 16 to 18. I have been talking about it. The issue in chainage 16 is that the coastal road was diverted into our estate, which belongs to several Nigerians in diaspora, several cooperatives in Nigeria,” the woman said.
Umahi replied, “We’re going to do a flyover to go over the road there, because of their cable.”
He noted that the initial plan was to keep the road along the coast, but that was adjusted following directives from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The issue is that we diverted the coastal road into a place that was not gazetted, so to say,” Umahi admitted.
The minister added, “It is cheaper and better for us to have gone within the coastline. It’s cheaper for us, it’s better for us. It is a coastal road. But the president directed, because these two people (stakeholders) went to send a petition, and he called me and said, ‘do not touch the cables from the ocean.’ We have also avoided the MTN cable line.”
