Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway: Policy Analysts Blast Atiku Over Project Cost

• The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has been accused of attempting to discredit the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project
• The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) said the N2.8 trillion expended on the project was appropriate
• The group said the Tinubu's government should be commended for reducing the cost of the project to N4.329bn per km from the N8.52bn/km

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

FCT, Abuja - The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) said the claims made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar about the cost of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway were off the mark.

The independent policy analysts said Atiku’s claims are targeted at discrediting the project.

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The IMPI chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, justified the N2.8trn allocated for the highway's construction cost, describing it as “appropriate.”

According to The Nation, Akinsiju made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, April 17,

He faulted Atiku’s criticism, insisting that there is enough proof to support the cost of the mega project.

The policy group argued that a cost analysis of road projects similar to the coastal highway project in some parts of the world showed that the cost was appropriate, Daily Trust reports.

“We note that there is no unified standard pricing template for building a kilometre of road anywhere in the world.

“The realities of road building have much to do with several variables: location, terrain, type of construction, number of lanes, lane width, surface durability, and the number of bridges, to name a few.

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“Yet, for engagement, we reviewed some cost estimates in some other countries to establish the context of fraud or otherwise that Waziri Abubakar is trying to throw up.”

The group commended the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government for reducing the cost of the project to N4.329bn per km from the N8.52bn/km in the initial design for a four-lane Lagos-Calabar highway by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“For clarity, a technical analysis of the features of the road will suffice: The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is designed to be 10 lanes with a total pavement of 59.2 metres with 100 metres corridor. Of this corridor, there will be five lanes on the right and five lanes on the left. This comes with a 25-metre train track.”

Lagos-Calabar coastal highway: Umahi speaks on project cost

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said the Lagos-Calabar coastal road construction would cost N4bn per kilometre.

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Umahi said it would take 15 years to recoup the money invested to construct the road, adding that the road will be completed in 8 years.

The former Ebonyi state governor said vehicles would be tolled on the road based on their sizes, from N1500 to N5000

Source: Legit.ng