Tinubu flags off Lagos-Calabar N15trn highway project, says ‘it’s my bragging day’

President Bola Tinubu has formally launched the ambitious 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, a massive infrastructure initiative valued at approximately N15 trillion.

Tinubu who cut the tape at exactly 6:03pm in Lagos was flanked by Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and about eight governors, including the Chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

In his remark, the President said “it’s my bragging day”, while highlighting ten benefits of the superhighway project which cuts across eight states.

“It’s my bragging day. We will do this road. We are determined to do it,” Tinubu said.

The Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, designed to stretch 700 kilometres and pass through nine states, was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement, where the bulk of the risk falls on the contractor, and the federal government provides counterpart funding.

In March 2024, the Federal Government broke ground on the highly anticipated project, launching the first phase of construction, which spans 47.47 kilometers from Lagos.

The project has sparked criticism from prominent opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Peter Obi, his counterpart from the Labour Party.