The Federal Government has begun the design of the Badagry-Sokoto Coastal Highway project, according to Minister of Works, David Umahi.
He said this during an inspection of the end of section one, phase one of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and its realignment in Lagos on Sunday.
According to him, the president has directed the Ministry of Works to begin designs for the project and works would start on the Sokoto end once the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approves it.
He stated, “I’m happy that Mr President has also directed me to start the immediate design of the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway. This one is a spur of the Coastal highway, and that one is 1000 kilometres.
“We’ve started the design and I’m very sure that as soon as Federal Executive Council approves it, we will be starting at Sokoto side, which is the zero point.
“We also have another spur which is going to go from Enugu -Abakaliki-Ogoja going to Cameroon. So, we have that spur and it’s about 361 kilometres, going through Otukpo to Benue to Nasarawa and ends up at Apo in Abuja.
“We are also going to be presenting it to Mr President, and when this is done, then the coastal routes like we promised will go to circle the entire country.”
The Minister stated that once finished, the coastal road will link the South-West, South-South, North-East, North-West, and North-Central regions of Nigeria.
Umahi strongly emphasized the importance of the coastal road project, noting that it would be the first of its kind in Africa.
What you should know
The Minister’s announcement of another coastal highway comes amid the controversy generated by the construction of the over 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway considering the cost, damages to properties along the route and litany of other uncompleted projects across the country.
Sen. Dave Umahi did not mention the estimated cost of the proposed Badagry-Sokoto coastal highway project.
