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Tag: Lagos-Calabar

  • Lagos-Calabar highway: NASS assures adequate budgetary provision

    Lagos-Calabar highway: NASS assures adequate budgetary provision

    The National Assembly has assured of adequate budgetary provision for the completion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway which has a contract sum of N1.67 trillion.

    The Chairman, joint National Assembly Committee on Works, Sen. Barinada Mpigi,  gave the assurance when he led members of the committee on oversight visit to some selected federal highway projects in Lagos.

    The Ne Coastal Highway is an inter-state highway that is proposed to traverse about nine states along the coastal shoreline of the country.

    The 750 kilometre highway, handled by Hitech Construction Africa Ltd., will start from Lagos, and would terminate in Cross River, with a spur to the north central part of Nigeria.

    Mpigi who expressed the National assembly’s support for speedy completion of the work, appreciated the level of work done so far.

    “The coastal road is real and is life and I can testify that the ministry is doing the right thing. And with the expectant period, it is achievable, he said.

    On his part, Chairman House Committee on Works, Mr Akin Alabi, said that the house of representatives would work with the Senate President, High Speaker of the House of Representatives and the the two Committees on Works for adequate funding of the road.

     “We are going to work with both the Senate President, the Speaker and the committees on appropriation to make sure funding is not what will delay the project.

    “We have seen it over and over again in this country, where you have great intention when you want to begin a project, but along the line, you will run into trouble.

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    “But this is a project everyone is committed, both the Executive and the Legislature and it must be delivered. We must make sure that every fund released are accounted for it.

    “This is the kind of project, a legacy project that will put smile on people’s faces and we are all committed to achieving it,” Alabi said.

    Also, the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, lauded the commitment of the contractor, Hitech Construction Company on the level of work so far done.

    “We commend Hitech. We are very confident that this project which is 700 kilometres, the phase two will be executed successfully under President Tinubu.

    “As a former governor of Lagos, he even acquired the right of way for the coastal highways but could not get a contractor at that point to start it.

    “He is a man that is very committed to development. We are submitting everything about this project to the President and he will be relating with national assembly in terms of funding.

    “Whatever funds that the national assembly will give us will be properly utilised.

    “When we construct roads under the renewed hope of the president, it will last for hundred years. He is the father of concrete technology in the country, ” Umahi said.

  • Fed Govt begins construction of 700-km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    Fed Govt begins construction of 700-km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    The Federal Government yesterday formally kicked off the construction of the first phase of the 700-kilometre Lagos to Calabar coastal superhighway.

    Works Minister David Umahi handed over the 47.47 kilometres of the project site to the contractor, Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited.

    Umahi made the formal transfer when he visited the construction site to inspect the progress of work.

    The minister said the project was expected to be completed within 36 months with sections two and three running concurrently.

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had, on February 26, approved the construction of the Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar coastal superhighway to Hitech Construction.

    It said the first phase, comprising 47 kilometres, would begin in Lagos.

    During yesterday’s formal handover, Umahi praised the contractor for promptly mobilising to site.

    “Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometres of Section One of the phase,” he said.

    Read Also: FG begins construction of 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    But the minister stressed the essence of on-time project completion, warning the contractor that no additional payments would be made for delays.

    He said: “Let me also say that today is March 7, and I am officially handing over the site to Hitech Construction Company of Nigeria Limited.

    “So, every timetable for the job starts running from today. We’ve already said as a policy of the Ministry of Works that we will not pay variation for any delayed projects.

    “Well, we have to say that for the sake of saying, because Hitech is noted for performance and for beating time.

    “The time for this Section One is 36 months. It is going to run concurrent with sections Two and Three. But right now, I am handing over Section One to Hitech Construction Nigeria Limited for them to start work. We’ve been to this corridor before, but today is to hand over the site.”

    Umahi also handed over the site to Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to ensure environmental compliance, saying the two companies would work together.

    The minister hailed the Lagos State government for making a section of the gazetted route free for the project.

    He said this demonstrated the government’s support for the completion of the project on time.

    Umahi directed that the realignment done from Kilometre 16, which had been approved by President Bola Tinubu, be followed.

    He advised Hitech to immediately begin work on the designated right of way, stressing that the company’s swift progress had been evident in the 1.3 kilometre of completed dredging since the project’s award.

  • FG begins construction of 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    FG begins construction of 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway

    The Federal Government has commenced the construction of the 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal road with the handover of the first phase of 47.47 kilometers of the dual carriageway to the contractor on Thursday.

    The 700 km highway traverses nine States with two spurs branching out to the North.

    The Minister of Works David Umahi said the project is integral to the Federal Government’s comprehensive economic recovery strategy.

    While emphasizing the importance of timely completion, Umahi stressed that contractors must adhere to strict timelines, warning that the government would not tolerate delays or slow progress after mobilization.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, the Minister, during the official handover of the first phase of the project to Hitech Construction Company Ltd, asserted that the road would be constructed with concrete pavement. 

    He commended the contractor for the quality and speedy delivery of the project, acknowledging the prompt commencement of work following the contract award, saying, “They have completed some filling of 1.3 kilometers from the day the project was awarded to them. It shows the speed they are going to deploy this project. 

    “Within a couple of weeks, we awarded the project to them, they mobilised a lot of dredging equipment, and you can see that they have recovered 1.3 kilometers of section one of the phase”.

    Orji stated in the statement that the Minister, during his visit to project sites at Queen’s Drive Ikoyi, the top deck of the Third Mainland Bridge, underwater inspections, Eddo Bridge, Eko Bridge, and Carter Bridge, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to undertaking comprehensive rehabilitation of these bridges. 

    He said the decision to embark on the recovery projects stems from the critical role these bridges play as links between the Mainland and the Island of Lagos, the nation’s economic hub.

    Read Also: FEC approves N1.07tr for Lagos-Calabar coastal road

    According to the Minister, the repairs are expected to cover not only the top of the bridge but also the under bridge works, saying, “At the Third Mainland bridge, we have three or four critical elements to be rehabilitated. The first one is the deck, and the deck is about 11 kilometers × two. 

    “That is dual carriageway, including the ramps, and it has been done by CCECC. They have done very beautiful jobs, but we have not concluded.  
    “Before the end of March, we’ll be concluding the asphalt milling and the reasphalting.

    “But that is not all our commitment there. We are installing the guardrails, we are replacing the lights with solar light, we are going to put some decorative lights too, and then we are going to put CCTV cameras both on top and under the bridge to check insecurity and illegal mining of sand, which is causing scouring on the piles and the pipe bits. 

    “The second job is that some sections of the slab are deflected, and so what we have done is to get an expert to understudy the level of deflection. 

    “That’s the tendons of the slab that deflected. And so we are going to cut open the slabs, enter and then look at it, scoop it, and then reinstate the tendons of the slab. 

    “There’s nothing to worry about. It’s been done at Eko bridge by Buildwell. So this one is not a threat to us at all”.