Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Presidency yesterday dismissed solutions that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the abandonment of elements of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to route the venture via the present East-West Road, insisting that the complete 750-kilometre coastal freeway could be constructed as initially deliberate.
The clarification adopted public controversy over the proposed use of the East-West Road hall in elements of the Niger Delta, with issues that the choice might go away some states and coastal communities exterior the unique alignment of the flagship infrastructure venture.
In an announcement posted on the Presidency’s official X deal with, the federal government declared that at no time did the President direct that the 750km dualised Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway be discontinued to East-West Road from Edo State.
Instead, it mentioned the proposed reconstruction of 400 kilometres of the East-West Road, from Edo State to Cross River State, was a further venture to be executed alongside the coastal freeway.
“This additional project, which is the reconstruction of East-West Road, is presently below flood level due to climate change and whose pavement is badly damaged, will not affect the complete construction of the entire 750km dualised Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as initially proposed,” the assertion mentioned.
The assertion, issued following a directive by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, sought to make clear the federal government’s place amid mounting questions over the route of the coastal freeway and the implications of the proposed modifications for states alongside the hall.
Umahi had earlier mentioned Tinubu directed that the continuation of the coastal freeway ought to use the present East-West Road in elements of the Niger Delta moderately than create a wholly new alignment.
The feedback generated controversy, with critics demanding clarification on whether or not the unique route had been altered and which communities would profit from the venture.
The newest assertion, nonetheless, maintained that the unique alignment remained intact and that work was progressing on a number of sections of the freeway.
It recognized 5 sections the place work was ongoing within the Niger Delta and adjoining areas, together with Sections 3A and 3B in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, masking 75 kilometres of twin carriageway; Sections 4A and 4B in Ogun and Ondo states, masking 65 kilometres; and Section Five in Akwa Ibom State, masking 62 kilometres.
The authorities mentioned surveying and design work was persevering with on the excellent parts of the freeway, extending from the top of the Ondo part via Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states earlier than connecting with Section Five in Akwa Ibom.
It added that procurement and development of the remaining sections would start after the survey and design work had been accomplished.
“As soon as the survey and design of the remaining sections of the 750km of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway are completed, procurement and construction will commence starting from the end of Ondo axis,” the assertion mentioned.
The Presidency additionally cited the extra route authorised for the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Biu-Maiduguri freeway to clarify why the East-West Road reconstruction wouldn’t imply the abandonment or alteration of the coastal freeway.
According to the assertion, Tinubu authorised a further 410-kilometre Wukari-Langtang route beneath the fourth legacy street venture, increasing the deliberate twin carriageway from 700 kilometres to 1,100 kilometres.
It mentioned the extra route had not affected the unique alignment of the venture, including that the identical precept utilized to the coastal freeway and the East-West Road reconstruction.
“All sections of the legacy projects are ongoing as proposed, and the additional projects will not affect the performance of the original alignment nor will it change it,” the assertion added.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is among the federal authorities’s main infrastructure tasks, designed to hyperlink Lagos with Calabar via Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The controversy over its alignment intensified after Umahi’s feedback that the present East-West Road could be integrated into the route in elements of the Niger Delta. The minister cited flooding, local weather change and the situation of the present street as causes for the proposed reconstruction.
However, the reported modifications prompted questions in regards to the venture’s unique goals, notably its promise of improved connectivity for coastal communities and financial centres throughout the southern hall.
But the newest clarification didn’t present an in depth map of the ultimate alignment or clarify exactly how the coastal freeway and the reconstructed East-West Road would join alongside the affected stretches.
The Presidency urged Nigerians to disregard what it described as misinformation in regards to the administration’s dedication to delivering the tasks as deliberate.
