The Federal Government has marked 700 properties for demolition for the Lagos-Calabar Highway project.

Lagos State Controller of Works, Mrs Olukorede Kesha, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting on the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

According to her, the number was significantly lower than initial estimates.

“Instead of having to demolish about 1,500 houses, we took the most economical route. Now we are left with less than 700 houses to be demolished,” she said.

She lauded the pace and planning of the project, stating that Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is 47 plus 400 kilometres, was awarded some time ago.

Addressing concerns over alignment and property demolition, Kesha said a lot of people complained about set alignments, but they are not duty-bound to follow any alignment.

“It was set aside when somebody else was to do it, but now that it’s the Federal Government, we have to look at the most feasible, most economical route,” she said.

Earlier, the Minister of Works, David Umahi declared that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not only revolutionise Nigeria’s transport landscape but also generate carbon credits through its eco-friendly construction and design.

He explained that the road will ease traffic congestion and integrate multi-modal transport infrastructure.

“This project is going to evacuate all the traffic out of the town, and that will be a big plus for us. We are not only building for today. We are also building for tomorrow. And, of course, there will be a rail line in the middle. The middle is 12 metres gap,” he stated.

The minister added that some areas would also have train stations and facilities for future developments.

Addressing the challenges in Section two of the project, Umahi said the existing industrial infrastructure posed a serious challenge, noting that with Dangote refinery, one needs about 60 metres clearance for the trucks to go in and out.

He said: “We are now building a flyover that has a span of 60 metres. And then the next span is 41.6 metres, counterbalanced by the next span, and then the rest is 22, 23 metres.

“So, we are flying over Dangote’s refinery, we are flying over Dangote’s fertilizer, and we are flying over some other conflict points.”

On plans for further expansion, Umahi said there are extensive ongoing and planned projects across several states.

“We have started in Cross River, and of course, Akwa Ibom. We are going there to flag off the construction,” he stated.

Touching on the Sokoto-Badagry legacy project, the minister explained the challenges and solutions being considered.

He revealed that the third section of Sokoto-Badagry is going to start from Badagry, where there are very big challenges.

According to him, there are three kilometres of rivers across the stretch, and it would cost a lot of money to deal with them. He, however, said they have devised about four options to handle it.

Umahi said the four legacy projects are connected and inclusive, explaining that the third legacy project is the one that is coming from Calabar, going through Ebonyi, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Abuja.

“The fourth legacy project goes from Abuja to Makurdi, Keffi, Akwanga, Jos, Bauchi, and Gombe. The four legacy projects are all connected together and no region is left aside,” he said.

The minister issued a stern warning against the misuse of infrastructure.

[Guardian]