The Federal Government, on Thursday, confirmed that it would pay compensation to all property owners along the path the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would be passing through across nine states.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, who said President Bola Tinubu had approved the payment of compensation to all affected property owners, also listed the necessary requirements and conditions affected residents must meet to qualify for the compensation.
While clarifying that the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal Highway would tentatively gulp N15.36tn or N4.39bn per kilometre, the minister said the government had extended the eviction notice for property owners affected in the multi-trillion naira project.
He also said the legacy project would be delivered in eight years.
The 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project is designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, before culminating in Cross River.
Umahi, while speaking at a stakeholders meeting with affected residents in Lagos, said that the works ministry would only provide compensation to deserving individuals based on approved documents.
He said an environmental impact assessment valuation had been concluded on the affected buildings, noting that owners of shanties and illegal buildings would not be paid.
He said, “The Federal Ministry of Works will pay compensation and the President has directed me to pay compensation but we are not going to pay anything to those living in the shanties.
“When you put up a building on a land that is not your own then you are not entitled for compensation. If your property is not approved, you are not entitled for compensation, but the President is a man of good heart and so I think we would still pay compensation to some persons because of the hardship in the country.
“But I repeat, shanties or unapproved buildings won’t be paid but we would try to save solid properties as much as possible.”
He also noted that the President directed the implementation of a compensation plan in response to the prevailing hardship in the country.
“The number of houses is still unknown but the environmental and social impact assessment officer has concluded his report and has captured all the properties involved. I am going to be looking at it but I am going to remove all the shanties and illegal buildings.
“At the end of this meeting, I know very well that my director and I will decide to increase the number of days of notice, but it is not going to be too long because the rain is coming and we want to pass through this particular section before it starts.
“The first 47km will be completed in 36 months but with what they have done so far, I wont be surprise if they complete it in two years. Until we procure all the sections, we may not be able to say this is the exact time the project will be completed,” he added.
Umahi said the legacy project, which would be delivered in eight years, was being constructed with the use of concrete pavement on the four-lane carriageway.
He explained that the contract was awarded on a counter-funding basis and not on a Public Private Partnership basis as widely claimed.
“And so in this particular project like Abuja to Makurdi, which is being handled by China Harbour, the government is paying 50 per cent counterpart funding. Then you have also from Makurdi to 9th Mile in Enugu State, where we are also paying 50 per cent counterpart funding.
“So, there’s a marked difference between PPP and EPC plus F (Engineering, Procurement and Construction plus Finance). And in this particular project, there will be a negotiated counterpart funding of between 15 and 30 per cent. We are still negotiating on these terms and will come to a resolution soon,” the minister stated.
The Federal Executive Council had approved the construction of phase one of the 700km Lagos–Calabar Coastal highway to Hitech Construction Company Limited. Phase one of the superhighway project stretches to 47.47km, starting from Lagos.
Earlier during an interview on Channels Television’s on Thursday, the former Ebonyi State governor had clarified the tentative total cost to be expended on the project, pointing out that the government was very prudent in costing the project at N15.36tn.
The figure was, however, contrary to the N4bn cost per kilometre earlier stated by the minister when he appeared on Television Continental News Hour programme on Wednesday.
This was as the Nigerian Society of Engineers backed the government on the project, encouraging Nigerians to focus on its potential investment value rather than dwell on the perceived high pricing.
But responding to a question on the project cost on Thursday, the minister said each kilometre of the coastal road would have cost more than N4.36bn but for the government’s prudence and cost effective measures.
“Can I give you the tentative project cost? Multiply N4.39bn by five, which are the lanes and then multiply by 700km which would give a total cost of N15.36tn. But this is a tentative figure.
“You know, there are other projects not awarded by me that are also going for about N4bn per kilometre.
“What is costing a lot of money is the sand filling and I am very proud of this figure and cost and I did a very good job on this project. So, I will pride myself, to the glory of God, that this project is the most prudent project that I’m starting. Other projects I made, we are reviewing, we are fighting, and we are trying to review, the cost.”
Commenting on the cost, the President of the Nigerian Highway Infrastructure and Transport Engineers, Hassan Saidu, said the government should be applauded for taking the bold step to construct the road after many failures by previous administrations.
NHITE is the road and transport division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers
