President Bola Tinubu’s Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project has received a boost, with Natural Eco Capital providing the environmental and social impact assessment.

The highway, spanning over 700km, is among West Africa’s most ambitious road projects. It is expected to facilitate regional trade and ease the movement of goods and people.

NEC “successfully” obtained all required national regulatory approvals, “most notably the key approval from the Federal Ministry of Environment”, thereby ensuring full legal compliance, said a statement by its CEO, Eugene Itua.

It noted that the statutory disclosure process, managed transparently, promoted stakeholder engagement and accountability.

The statement added that by delivering regulator-approved ESIAs, NEC established the “indispensable legal and technical foundation upon which lenders could confidently conduct due diligence and advance financing discussions”.

“Our mandate was to protect the project from regulatory risk and provide the legal foundation for financing. By securing approvals for both section 1 and section 2, we ensured the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway could move forward with confidence,” said Mr Itua.

After NEC secured regulatory approvals, Sky Kapital led the lender-focused aspects of the project. Sky Kapital adapted the project’s management plans to meet international lender frameworks, including the IFC Performance Standards.

Their work aligned regulatory compliance with lender requirements, ensuring the project remained bankable and met global safeguards, the statement noted.

This approach enhances credibility, reduces risk, and accelerates financing discussions, according to NEC.

The partnership between NEC and Sky Kapital demonstrates a two-stage compliance model comprising regulatory approval, legal standing, public disclosure, lender safeguards, financing alignment, bankability, and risk management.

“This partnership ensures the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is fully compliant with Nigerian law and aligned with international lender criteria, making it a secure and attractive investment.

“Congratulations to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Works, and Hitech Construction Company on achieving this milestone,” NEC said.