The federal government has hinted that the construction of coastal routes in Nigeria has the potential to attract foreign investment and strengthen the naira.

Works minister Dave Umahi said this at unveiling the new design routes for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to Umahi, the government’s plan to improve infrastructure ultimately aims to create an economic revolution in Nigeria.

He said, “We talked about our economy, that it needs foreign investments. These roads are going to be constructed with concrete pavements, and it’s CPC+ F, which means that there is foreign investment that will come in, and this foreign investment will strengthen and stabilise the naira.

“I’m very happy that the President has directed me to begin the design of one of the spurs linking to this coastal routes and that is the Sokoto-Badagry which was conceived by the President Shagari administration.

“It’s going to connect the ongoing routes, Lagos-Badagry routes that is being done by the federal government and state government. There is also another route which is the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja-Cameroon-African Trans-Sahara routes. The coastal routes is also going to connect.”

The works minister added, “The Sokoto-Badagry is 1,000 kilometres from the spur of the Trans-Saharan trade routes down to Apo in Abuja is 461 kilometres. It means that anyone that is travelling from Sokoto to Lagos will do it in about 10 hours, and travelling from South-East to Abuja will do it in a maximum of about five hours. These are the benefits of the coastal routes.”

The minister also addressed criticism surrounding who gets credit for developing the coastal routes in Nigeria. 

Mr Umahi said, “Some people are already bitter as to why it should be President Bola Tinubu that is the one to develop these coastal routes as tt will be a lasting legacy for generations to come. That is just their own anger. So, they look for an avenue to attack. But it’s all about darkening counsel without knowledge.”

He argued that the project’s long-term benefits outweighed political squabbles, which, according to him, will positively impact future generations.

Mr Umahi explained how the coastal routes, envisioned by Tinubu when he was then governor of Lagos State, would significantly improve the functionality of the Lagos deep seaport.

He also mentioned that the coastal routes would facilitate trade within Nigeria and potentially boost economic growth, allowing ships to access the deep seaport directly and eliminating the need for expensive transloading due to insufficient water depth.

(NAN)