The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, on Thursday, hinted that President Bola Tinubu would commission sections of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway by May 29th, 2025, as part of a promise to realise the project.

The minister, who disclosed this to journalists in Lagos after inspecting the project, said the first phase of the ongoing 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal road project is over 70 per cent completed despite the contractors not receiving proportional funding.

He said, “The president is the vision behind the coastal road project. By May 29th, he will commission sections of the Lagos-Calabar road as part of his legacy project to bolster road infrastructure.

“We have surpassed our expectations on the Federal super highway project with the thickness of the roads and the quality of iron reinforcement used on the concrete pavements.

Umahi said, “We will earn carbon credits on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road because the pavement is concrete, which has low emissions compared to asphalt roads.

“We will earn carbon credits using solar because we are not burning diesel. This is very important. We are going to be having trees all through.”

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

He said, “This project will evacuate all the traffic jams out of the town, which 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 meters apart.”

However, he commended Hi-Tech Construction Company for its dedication to nation-building, and he noted that construction work was carried out in three shifts.

He hinted that the Financial promoters, the Deutsche Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, are very enthused with the project’s fast pace, as are the development partners, who have given their nod to realising the project’s full potential and work progress.