AEC Unity Network Limited, the concessionaire for the 470-kilometre Abuja-Lagos Superhighway project, has sought the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval for the project’s takeoff and flagging off by President Bola Tinubu.

The project, estimated to cost $5 billion and spanning four years, aims to provide the nearest and best link, by road, between the Federal Capital, Abuja, and the Economic Capital, Lagos.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the Chairman of AEC Unity Network Limited, Kenny Martins, stated that the company had concluded the preliminary aspects of the project designs, studies, and approvals and was ready to commence construction.

Martins noted that the project was initially expected to be funded with a sovereign guarantee from the Federal Government, but due to the country’s heavy foreign debt exposure, a mutual consensus was reached to execute the project without a sovereign guarantee.

He stated that instead, a hybrid of guarantees was adopted to ensure financier confidence. Martins noted that the superhighway would facilitate easier and cheaper means of commuting by road between the two cities. opening up villages along the route and providing a convenient alternative for travellers to states along the route, including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, and Abuja.

He hinted that the company planned to construct a spur to link the Baro Port in Niger State, increasing its viability, and was already in talks with the Niger State Government to facilitate this development.

Martins stated that the project would also benefit passengers and commuters heading towards Ondo State, subject to subsequent approvals by the supervising authorities.

He noted that with FEC approval, the project was set to commence and that the company was ready to deliver a world-class infrastructure that would benefit the country for generations to come.