By Nduka Nwosu

After an analysis of the ongoing construction work of the 48 kilometres First Phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, NDUKA NWOSU says its completion time about now will make Hitech a reliable time keeper with an efficient track record of quality delivery. The good news is that tHitech Construction Company Limited is living up to its billing of quality delivery and a time line that does not disappoint. This reporter undertook a tour of the project for an update, just to remind Okere where we are to date.  

For a start: Recently, the coastal highway was upgraded by 100 kilometres making it an 800 coastal highway primarily to accommodate Edo State at a cost estimate of N750 billion based on the Federal Government benchmark of N7.5 billion for every standard construction of a two lane project or road.

The initial 30-kilometre portion of the road from Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island to the Lekki Deep Seaport has been completed and commissioned, while sand filling and construction work are ongoing for the remaining 17.47 kilometers with a cost profile of N1.067 trillion for the Phase One of the 47.47 project awarded under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC&F) model with a cost estimate of N7. 5 billion for a kilometre of two standard lanes.

Currently about 167 kilometres are being actively constructed across different states such as Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Ogun state, with the total cost of expenditure for the road project pegged at $11billion to $13 billion or N15 trillion.

Of the 48 kilometres Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island to Lekki Deep Seaport, plus the multi-state expansion wor, with a 97-kilometre stretch from Lagos to the Olokola Free Trade Zone in the Ilaje Council Area from Irokun to Oke-Ipare in Ogun State, there has been massive sand filling, active paving, structural work and fly overs.

Between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, there is also a 65-kilometre long road established to complement simultaneous regional fronts. A new 100 kilometre long road stretches from Ondo State to Edo State and connects Delta State.   

If the superhighway is completed within the projected time frame of eight years, it would have beaten the completion time of the 11.8 kilometres Third Mainland Bridge, which many believe was a project of the Ibrahim Babangida regime. The project actually started in the 1970s under different administrations and was completed by the military government in 1990. It would also have beaten President Jonathan’s East-West Road currently lying comatose with a promise by the present administration that it would complete the equally ambitious road project.

Many critics think otherwise and are not in a hurry to applaud this crash in time travel from 15 hours and possibly 20 hours, given the disheveled state of the country’s roads, to six or seven hours through the super highway.

This is despite Umahi’s repeated statements from the flag-off of the project till date that due process was followed in awarding the contract for the execution of what he called a transformative project, describing President  Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a visionary and courageous leader. 

On the issue on ground, former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, has weighed in, saying the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a fraud and would not go beyond Epe.

A quick fact check on whether His Excellency Donald Duke, now a Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), who was a success in the development of tourism in Cross River State, actually made those statements, confirmed he did.

He stated the coastal highway would not go beyond Epe questioning its affordability and adding it was a misplaced priority.

As governor, Duke was exceptional in raising the tourist attraction potential of Cross River State with Tinapa as an export free zone. He also heavily marketed Aftica’s biggest street party-the Calabar Carnival, whose market value about now will even be more enhanced by the arrival of the coastal highway, with other state governments across the country learning from him.

In his second term in office in 2007, I had the privilege of doing a comprehensive cover story on Calabar as a tourist attraction centre.

Duke later invited my family for a documentary with Channels television.

We took part in the carnival, saw the historical sanctuary sites including the home of Mary Slessor, the Ekpe Fraternity halls and all the monuments reminding you why Calabar was once capital of colonial Nigeria. We ended up at the equally interesting holiday resort the Obudu Cattle Ranch. It was fun including President Obasanjo’s visit to declare Tinapa open.

Did the sponsors of the coastal highway have all these concepts in mind in arriving at Calabar as its take off point from the South South? 

Certainly, a President Donald Duke in 2027 will not order the closure of the coastal highway for all the new opportunities it would open for tourism, especially in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states.

Yes educated and civilised argument, the type our sister Kemi Badenoch applies in her leadership of the opposition Conservative Party in the British parliament against the Labour Party is the way to go.

President Tinubu has a good reason to brand His Excellency Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury his partner in daring. The miracle city called Eko Atlantic stands as an eloquent testimony in the adventure series of daring.

This reporter undertook a tour of the project for an update on where it is to date. 

At 80 plus, Ambassador Chagoury has seen it all, ‘for what shall it profit a man to inherit the earth and lose the kingdom of heaven?’ A philanthropist with decades of doing good in his native Lebanon where he has been involved in infrastructure development, building institutions and recreating civilisations, in America and elsewhere in the world with his donations to religious organisations, that  receive his support in the work they do, as ambassador and economic adviser to many African countries and back here in his chosen country with countless scores of philanthropic activities. At this moment, he is giving back to Nigeria, what Nigeria has given to him, and a solid tourism route is one such gift.

Today, as the Hitech works day and night to actualise the President’s expectations, the possibilities of a greater future are unfolding.

In his earlier X account, Presidential Spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, recounted the experience describing the president as “the man who had the vision to tame  the Atlantic and spring out a 10-million square metre city out of its bowels, the man who envisioned the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Lekki Free Trade Zone, relished  the start of the coastal road.”

According to the president, the project would revolutionise transportation in Nigeria and bolster the unique economic strength of each zone.

President Tinubu also commended the Minister of Works, David Umahi, for being diligent and for his efforts towards the qualitative execution of the strategic coastal highway project.

He applauded the Chairman of Hitech Construction Company, Ambassador Chagoury, and Ronald Chagoury, whose company is handling the project, for being worthy stakeholders and for believing in the future of Nigeria.

“Together, we worked to tame the Atlantic, and we turned a disaster into a great asset of value. We lost weight and took insults, but eventually, we tamed the Atlantic. We achieved our goals,” the President said, recounting how the indigenous company successfully executed a project to prevent the Atlantic Ocean from overrunning Victoria Island.

“Do not be afraid. We will do this road, and it will be a success for Nigeria, and we will do even more of this,” President Tinubu added..

He said the project would ensure that future generations have something memorable to treasure. It would be a  while serving as a good precedent set for others to follow in the timely provision of world-class infrastructure.

As he pust it: ‘’We have a road that will outlive all of us here. That is how to build the future. This project is more than a mere road. It is a symbol of hope, unity, and prosperity.

‘’It will connect communities, bring prosperity to people, and create opportunities for millions of our people. For our nation to excel, we just have to be bold and courageous in our endeavours,” the President said.

President Tinubu added that it would provide direct employment for thousands of people and indirect jobs for tens of thousands. Of course this dream is being realsed with more economic opportunities and a fast-track of economic development underway.