The federal government has assured that the ongoing construction of the first 47 kilometres of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be ready by May 2025.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, gave the assurance while inspecting an evacuated but now refilled section of the road that had served as a refuse dumpsite.

Mr Umahi said the construction company was reliable and would achieve one kilometre of concrete pavement in a day; hence, the stipulated duration of the project would still be attained.

According to him, settlers along the site corridors will soon be dislodged for failure to comply voluntarily.

The minister said: “I am very happy with the work, and people have been asking me that we say this 47 kilometre will be commissioned by May 29, and they are counting months for me, and they are counting months for Hitech.

“But I have no fear about what Hitech is doing. First, it is good quality work; the most difficult aspect of this is the settlement of the sand.”

Earlier, the federal controller of works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, explained that evacuation of the refuse dumpsite had slowed down the construction work.

Ms Kesha, however, assured that the impact of the refuse evacuation would be insignificant for the duration of the project.

“In some places, we had as deep as five to six metres of refuse, and the place where we are standing now was just at the formation level, so we are still going to fill on top of this.

“So, it’s an additional cost because it was not really envisaged. So, this refuse here is going to be evacuated and taken to as far as Epe or Ojota.

“So, we are here to let you see, just the way we have written to you in Abuja to seek your approval for the contractor to start the evacuation so that the work can continue in earnest,” Ms Kesha said.

The 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River.

The highway will pass through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom before culminating in Cross River.

The 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal road will be constructed at N15 trillion, and a kilometre will cost N4 billion.

(NAN)