Road projects will spur economic growth – Umahi

Minister of Works David Umahi has defended the Federal Government's significant investment in road infrastructure, characterizing President Bola Tinubu’s four legacy highway projects as crucial economic corridors designed to transform agriculture, trade, and industrial development nationwide.

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We are building a fantastic flyover that resolves the conflict at that point. And we are building the longest flyover at the front of Dangote refinery, because the overboarding trucks of theirs, we have to take into consideration, and also a lot of traffic over there.

Umahi revealed that the government is constructing what he described as "the longest flyover in Africa" near the Dangote Refinery on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. This ambitious project aims to preemptively address anticipated traffic congestion stemming from the industrial activities around the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the refinery. The minister made these remarks during the Renewed Hope Media Tour at the site of the ongoing 1.3-kilometer Ndi-Egbe Bridge in Ebonyi State, which connects the state to Ugep in Cross River State.

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So that’s why we are building a very serious and longest flyover you can ever have, you know, in Africa. That is ongoing. And so it’s 55km, and it’s N1.33bn. That job is technically done over 70 per cent. The 70 per cent loan component is being procured, and that job is ongoing. That job will be completed by December.

Speaking about the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi emphasized the government's proactive measures to prevent future traffic bottlenecks. "We are building a fantastic flyover that resolves the conflict at that point. And we are building the longest flyover at the front of Dangote refinery, because the overboarding trucks of theirs, we have to take into consideration, and also a lot of traffic over there," he explained. He noted that this flyover is technically over 70 percent complete and is expected to be finished by December. The first section of the coastal highway has already been completed and is ready for commissioning.

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Don’t forget that the first section is fully completed and ready for commissioning.

Updates were also provided on the Ndi-Egbe Bridge project, a strategic 1.3-kilometer crossing that forms part of the transportation network linking the South-East and South-South regions. The bridge is approximately 45 percent complete and is slated for completion in December 2026. Umahi highlighted its importance, noting that the distance from the bridge to the end of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Calabar is about eight kilometers, underscoring its role in enhancing economic connectivity.

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So you have approximately 1.3km of bridge over Ndi-Egbe. This bridge is very strategic because from this point to the end of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Calabar is about eight kilometres.