IMPI To Atiku On The Cost Of Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

“The second issue that Waziri Abubakar had raged about, has to do with the cost of the project. The former Vice President, had variously controverted possible cost of constructing what the Minister of Works had insisted is a 10-lane express road which would start from Victoria Island near Eko Atlantic City and go through Lekki Coastal Road, Lekki Free Trade Zone, Dangote Refinery, and then link Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo states up to Calabar,Cross Rivers state.

“According to Umahi, the highway will be delivered at a cost of N4.329 billion per kilometre of standard gauge reinforced concrete across 10 lanes, with a lifespan of between 50 – 100 years. In response to the cost as announced by Umahi, Waziri Abubakar declared that the tentative total cost of N14trillion was the equivalent of the total budget of all the 36 states which is about N15.91 trillion and that it was outrageous.

“Waziri Abubakar, despite his apparent show of outrage over the cost as announced by Umahi, is yet to offer a possible real cost of the project which he has sensationally described as “highway to fraud and waste.” But is the costing truly a reflection of fraud? Our international comparative analysis of average road construction cost per kilometre shows otherwise.

“We are of the opinion that Waziri Abubakar merely desires to scapegoat the project and eventually discredit the positive public image accruable to President Tinubu from the implementation of the project.

“We note that there is no unified standard pricing template for the cost of building a kilometre of road anywhere in the world. The realities of road building have much to do with a number of variables: location, terrain, type of construction, number of lanes, lane width, surface durability, and the number of bridges, to name a few. Yet, for the purpose of 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. To build a 2-lane road of 12 metres wide of each lane with no bridges in states of North Eastern United States of America is $3.34m per km (when converted to Naira using the N1200/$ adopted by Umahi, it comes to N4.08bn per km) while same 2-lane road in South Eastern USA with no bridges is $3.78m per km (N4.53bn per km). According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the average cost of building a concrete road in rural areas is around $2.5m per mile, while in urban areas it can cost upwards of $5m per mile.

“In California, the estimated cost of building a concrete road ranges from $3m to $6m per mile, depending on location and other factors.

“In Australia, average road project costs were around $5.1m (N6.12bn) per lane kilometre in 2017. But in Bangladesh, according to the World Bank, the estimated cost of construction is $6.6m (N7.92bn) per kilometre for the Rangpur-Hatikumrul highway, $7m (N8.4bn) per kilometre for Dhaka-Sylhet highway, $11.9m (N14.28 bn) per kilometre for Dhaka-Mawa highway. This underscores cost differentials in road construction because of peculiarities in terrains.

“These figures are far higher than the N4.329bn per kilometre of 10 lanes of Coastal Road with very peculiar terrains that Umahi says Hitech has commenced construction of.

“For clarity, a technical analysis of the features of the road will suffice: The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road is designed to have 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. It is also commendable that the Works Minister prudently reduced the cost of the legacy design of the four-lane Lagos-Calabar highway of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from N8.52bn/km to N4.329bn/km.

“On appropriation, we note that the former Vice President referenced the N500m captured in the name of the project in the 2024 budget but finds fault with the approval of N1.06 trn by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the take-off of the project. Again, we believe that Waziri Abubakar deliberately chose to ignore the convention of anticipatory approval by which FEC can increase funds allocated to a budgetary item for exigency purpose with intent at submitting same to the legislative arm for consideration and approval.

“Our general submission is that Waziri Abubakar’s vaunted interrogation of the award process of the Coastal Road to Hitech Construction Company lacks substance and rational logic. It smacks of public exhibitionism to showcase his personal alternative reality.

“We commend President Tinubu and his Works Minister for their prudence in reducing the cost outlay for the construction of the Coastal Road. We are also impressed with the speed and pace of construction since the Federal Government awarded the contract to Hitech Construction Company Limited, which has so far completed 1.3 kilometres of the required filling.”

–Independent Media and Policy Initiative