Stakeholders from the South-West and South-South regions have begun coordinated efforts to harness the vast economic opportunities expected from the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing the project as a potential catalyst for long-term national economic transformation if properly planned and managed.

At a high-level engagement convened by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission in Ibadan, representatives of the BRACE Commission, comprising Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Edo states, alongside government officials, development experts and private sector stakeholders, agreed on the need for joint planning frameworks to maximise investments along the coastal corridor.

Participants at the event noted that strategic utilisation of opportunities created by the highway could significantly expand Nigeria’s economic output, with projections suggesting the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow to between $1.4 trillion and $14 trillion within the next 50 years.

The meeting, themed “Unlocking Economic Potentials of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: Land Governance and Regional Alignment for the Southwest Corridor,” brought together representatives from South-West states, professionals across all sectors and policy stakeholders to chart a coordinated development pathway.

Director-General of the DAWN Commission, Dr Seye Oyeleye, said the engagement was convened to ensure states along the corridor avoid fragmented development approaches that have undermined previous infrastructure projects.

He described the coastal highway as Nigeria’s biggest infrastructure initiative in over six decades, stressing that early planning remains critical to maximising its economic benefits.

“The biggest infrastructure programme in the last 65 years requires structured development to avoid the mistakes of the past,” Oyeleye said, noting that collaboration among Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states, alongside South-South counterparts, would enable the creation of industrial, green and tourism zones along the corridor.

According to him, stakeholders are considering the establishment of a joint supervisory body to coordinate development activities and ensure uniform standards across participating states.

Guest lecturer and Managing Director of Makaya Consult, Eko Atlantic City, Olawale Opayinka, projected that developments along the coastal corridor could generate enterprise value running into trillions of dollars if properly managed.

Also, Director-General of the BRACE Commission, Joe Keshi, echoed the call for deliberate planning, stressing that infrastructure alone does not guarantee economic transformation.

The meeting, therefore, resolved to pursue the creation of a joint regional development mechanism to supervise growth along the corridor, noting that sustained collaboration between states and the Federal Government would determine whether the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway becomes a transformative economic corridor or another example of missed infrastructure potential.