FG announces change in Lagos-Calabar highway route

Minister of Works,  Dave Umahi, has said the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will return to its original route to avoid destroying submarine cables.

Speaking at the 3rd stakeholders meeting of the coastal highway project in Lagos, Umahi announced that the Federal Government will abandon the proposed new route of the coastal highway from kilometres 16 to 25 and return to the original gazetted alignment.

The decision was arrived at after a two-hour session that included presentations and a question and answer segment, representatives of telecommunications companies, residents of the Okun Ajah community, and other stakeholders.

According to the minister, reverting to the old alignment would lead to the demolition of 750 illegally built houses, while the new alignment would lead to the demolition of 490 houses.

The 2Africa submarine cable, West African Cable Systems (WACS), and a 50-megawatt power plant supporting these cables are located at Mopo.

Tampering with this infrastructure, stakeholders said, would have national security implications and could affect internet connectivity across Africa.

The stakeholders urged the government to revert to the original gazetted alignment to protect these critical infrastructures.

The Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project is designed to stretch 700 kilometres and pass through nine states.

The Federal Government commenced the construction in March 2024, beginning with the first phase of the project, which stretches 47.47 kilometres from Lagos.

However, the project came under criticism from different quarters most notably from Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, presidential candidates for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) respectively, in the 2023 elections.