President Bola Tinubu says the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road will provide direct employment for millions of people and benefit over 30 million citizens.
Tinubu said this at the official commissioning of the construction of the 700-km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and the design procurement of the 1000-km Sokoto-Badagry super highway on Sunday in Lagos.
He said that the project, aligned with the Renewed Hope initiative, would grow in value and explore Nigeria’s abundant assets.
“This 700-kilometer superhighway, a 10-lane road project, represents a crucial step in our efforts to enhance connectivity, facilitate economic growth, and improve the quality of life for our people.
”It will provide direct employment for millions of people across coastal states, and over 30 million citizens will benefit and have access to production and marketing centers.
“This project is more than just a road; it is a symbol of hope, unity, and prosperity.
”It will connect our communities in nine states, foster trade and commerce, boost tourism, and create new opportunities for generations to come,” Tinubu said.
He, however, noted that Nigeria was experiencing a temporary period of difficulty.
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The president emphasized the urgency of investing in long-lasting infrastructure projects that would benefit people for many years to come.
Additionally, Tinubu said that the coastline infrastructure was directly linked to the Lekki Free Trade Zones, deep seaports, and Dangote refinery.
This, he said, was the reason Nigerians should harness the full potential of the project, aimed at bringing millions of opportunities to communities and coastline states.
Tinubu assured citizens that his administration would speed up efforts to accelerate industrialization, saying that concerted moves were being made to boost industrial growth, drive economic prosperity, and create employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He acknowledged that, in the midst of challenges, the country was making bold efforts and endeavors to be successful and have a good landmark of infrastructure to treasure.
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Tinubu lauded the industrial efforts of Aliko Dangote, Hi-Tech Construction Company, and Chagoury Groups in navigating the stormy waters of business in Nigeria and Africa.
Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar coastal road as a “bold infrastructure policy” that would earn Tinubu a second term in office.
He named some of the policies implemented by Tinubu, such as student loans and the rehabilitation of several dilapidated roads.
This policy, he said, had earned him several accolades as the greatest infrastructure leader in the sub-Saharan African economy.
Akpabio advocated the amendment of the Bureau of Procurement Act in budgetary allocation.
He assured that the implementation of the acts into the budget would allow the full completion of projects in due time.
The projects would be fully completed in due time and address issues of abandoned roads, dilapidated roads, and neglected infrastructure in the country.
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The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, said the ministry was committed to driving the project to completion.
He added that human faces were put into the project to save telecommunication infrastructure, submarine cables, and critical national assets in the country.
This, Umahi said, informed the decision to realign routes to save workstations and business infrastructure.
Umahi restated that compensations had been paid up to Kilometer 6.
He applauded President Tinubu’s efforts to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the country.
Also, Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State described the highway project as an “audacious step” in the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, it is a step to facilitate regional markets, strengthen economic diversification, and drive local content development for bold and transformational projects.
Sanwo-Olu said, ”The renewed hope is here; we can now have handshakes across regional corridors and geopolitical zones to populate business growth.”
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He stressed that the project would build new conversations for tourism, encourage foreign direct investment, and strengthen transformation projects across federal and sub-national levels.
He commended the efforts of the president in bringing about generational change and re-tooling the nation’s economy.
Similarly, Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun said the coastline project was an indelible legacy of President Tinubu’s administration.
He said that the project would deepen the investment drive, improve return on investment, and connect emerging markets to link the six geopolitical zones in the country.
Abiodun said infrastructure was the key enabler of economic growth, and the Lagos-Calabar concrete road, the only coastline road in Nigeria, would take off in the financial capital of Lagos State and into eight other states in the country.
Underscoring the commitment of the Renewed Hope Agenda, Abiodun remarked that the coastline project would reduce travel time, reduce man-hours lost, and boost industrial sector growth to provide employment.
He, however, commended the efforts of the president for resolving all the issues of coastline realignment, gazetted routes, and right of way. (NAN)
