FG to review Lagos-Calabar highway project, install CCTV camera

The Federal Government, while the deliverables of the investment, has stated that the the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project would be reviewed to accommodate landmark features that would add value to the socio-economic potentials of the project.

Work Minister, Sen Engr Nweze David Umahi made this known when he paid inspection visits to Sections I and II of the project in Lagos being handled by Hitech Construction Company Ltd on Friday 20th December 2024.

According to him, “We’re going to plant trees. And of course, we are going to also have some lay bay. We can decide every five kilometers we’ve a lay bay where we connect all our CCTV cameras. And then we have vehicles and the security within cabin there, so that the response time will be like 10 minutes.
“I’m sure that you’ve witnessed what we did at Third Mainland Bridge. That’s what we intend to replicate in all our highways. And so the entire stretch of 750 kilometers to Calabar will be under CCTV, powered by solar.

“And then every five kilometers or 10 or 15, as we may agree, we will have portal cabin where we have security posts, no blocking of the roads, we have a viewing centre, and then you view the entire stretch left and right. We’ll agree on number of kilometers, depend on the capacity of the cameras.”

On the imperative of the contract review, the Minister further stated,” the service lane was never envisaged, CCTV camera was never envisaged. There was no single item of work, like we’re having in all the projects from the removal of topsoil, not to talk of the removal of debris.”
Umahi commended the work progress on the project as a signature of excellence on road infrastructure development by the Renewed Hope agenda and praised the vision of Mr. President in initiating legacy projects which will connect the critical economic corridors and boost transportation ecosystem in six Geo- political Zones.

Umahi noted that the four Renewed Hope legacy projects and the inherited ongoing projects were on course and that milestone project execution was adopted to ensure a sense of equality among the 6 Geo-Political Zones.

He said that some of the sections of the projects being executed nationwide, including the inherited ongoing projects, would be ready for commissioning by May 2025. “Work is progressing on Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway.
“We have the Sokoto- Badagry Superhighway. Work is seriously in progress on the project. The first 120 km, work is going on Sokoto. It has been procured. And work is going on by Hitech, using concrete. And then, you have the Kebbi section, 250 km. Work is also going on there.

“And so, we believe strongly that we’ll be able to have about 20 km in both sections to commission by May 29th. In section one of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in South West, we are very sure that we’ll commission the first 20 km in section one and 10 km in section two”, the Minister said.

Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Federal Controller of Works, Engr. Olukorede Kashia recounted the experiences encountered at commencement of the project but expressed confidence in the timely delivery of the project by the contractor handling the project.
“We encountered a lot of issues which were not foreseen because they were really covered. Like I said earlier, when you’re doing a preliminary design, you can not do a borehole at every meter. So when you do, at one meter, you do another one at 20 meters.

“So, in the process of executing the project, we encountered a lot of refuse dumps. It was like this place was like Olushosun, where they dump dirt to the magnitude of about five meters depth in some places.

“And then the contractor has carted away all that and then replaced it with good soil. That’s sand filling from the ocean, as you can see, good sand filling, and then we had to wait a little.”

Others who spoke during the event were the Acting Director of Highways Road Design, Engr. Saidu Musa and the Managing Director of Hitech Construction Company Ltd, Dany Abboud.