Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has announced that the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will operate as a toll road immediately after completion and official commissioning.
Umahi disclosed this on Saturday in Lagos during an inspection of ongoing construction work on the project, stressing that tolling is an integral part of the contractual agreement with the project contractor.
“This highway will not be opened to traffic without tolling arrangements in place. Tolling is embedded in the contract and it will be managed by the contractor”, the minister said.
He explained that the government intends to avoid a situation where the road is opened to motorists before toll infrastructure is fully installed. According to him, the contractor has been directed to present a clear implementation schedule and commence construction of toll facilities no later than the end of April.
“We don’t want to commission the road and then begin discussions about tolling. The programme must be ready, and tolling must begin immediately the project is completed and inaugurated”, Umahi added.
Addressing concerns over project cost, the minister stated that the recent realignment of the highway had concluded all necessary adjustments, leaving no room for further budget increases. He noted that the government had already engaged the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on the matter.
“We have finalised the re-measurements, and given the many competing demands facing the country, there will be no additional budgetary increase”, he said.
Umahi revealed that the project has already absorbed about ₦170 billion in cost variations, arising from design diversions to preserve high-rise buildings, shoreline protection works, and the removal of extensive refuse dumps, some as deep as 15 metres and stretching across several kilometres.
He added that the contractor, Hitech, is bearing significant risk as part of its contribution to national development.
