The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled immediately after it is completed and officially commissioned.
Umahi stated this on Saturday in Lagos during an inspection tour of the ongoing construction work on sections of the highway. He said tolling was already part of the project agreement and would not be introduced after the road had been opened for unrestricted use.
“I must emphasise that this road is going to be tolled by the contractor. It is part of the package,” the minister said. “I do not want a situation where we open the road permanently for traffic and then begin discussions about tolling.”
According to him, the contractor would be required to present a clear programme that would include the construction of tolling infrastructure before the road is commissioned. He said work on the tolling facilities is expected to begin before the end of April.
“The contractor has to give us the programme and begin to build the infrastructure. As soon as the road is completed and commissioned, tolling will commence,” Umahi added.
Speaking on the impact of the realignment of parts of the highway on the project cost, the minister said the Federal Government would not approve any further increase in the budget.
He explained that re-measurements had been concluded and the matter taken to the Bureau of Public Procurement, stressing that the country could not afford additional financial adjustments on the project.
“We have a lot of other national issues, so there is no opening to increase the project further,” Umahi said. “What we have is a total increment of N170 billion, arising from the realignment to save high-rise buildings at the beginning of the project, shore protection challenges and the evacuation of massive refuse dumps, some as deep as 15 metres and stretching across several kilometres.”
Umahi noted that the contractor, Hitech Construction Company Limited, would bear part of the financial burden as its contribution to national development.
“Hitech has to take this risk, and that is part of its contribution in building our nation,” he said.
The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is a 750-kilometre project designed to link coastal states across the country and boost economic activities along the corridor.
The inspection tour also covered parts of the Calabar–Itu Road and Sections 3A and 3B of the project in Cross River State.
Source: NAN
