ECOWAS BANK APPROVES 100MILLION DOLLARS FOR CALABAR-LAGOS COASTAL HIGHWAY

The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has committed $100 million to support the development of a key section of Nigeria’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

This funding covers a 47.7-kilometre stretch, marking Section I, Phase I of the project, which originates from Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos.

Work on the highway began in March 2024, with Hitech Construction Company Limited appointed as the main contractor.

The announcement was made during EBID’s 92nd Ordinary Session held in Lagos, where the bank outlined a series of development financing commitments amounting to €174 million and $125 million, targeted at infrastructure and social development across the ECOWAS region.

The investment in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is designed to boost intra-regional connectivity by linking nine Nigerian states. It will also enhance access to strategic seaports, support agro-industrial development, and improve logistical networks along Nigeria’s southern corridor. The highway is further expected to contribute to the formation of a regional supply chain, economically empowering coastal communities.

“The bank also approved $100 million in funding for the Lagos-Calabar coastal motorway project in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It said that this project, which spans 47.7 km, would link nine Nigerian states and improve access to seaports and isolated agro-industrial areas. EBID noted that the funding would also contribute to the emergence of a regional value chain to support coastal communities.”

Other EBID-backed initiatives include €50 million earmarked for the establishment and outfitting of six technical and vocational education centres in Togo. These centres aim to provide skills training for up to 3,480 youths annually, focusing on high-demand trades.

In Guinea, the bank allocated €28.9 million to revamp four agricultural high schools, and an additional €95.16 million to build three hydroelectric micro-power plants with a combined generation capacity of 30 megawatts, aiming to expand rural access to renewable energy.

Côte d’Ivoire will benefit from a $25 million facility directed at financing clinker imports by Société de Ciment de Côte d’Ivoire—a move expected to support local cement manufacturing and alleviate raw material shortages in the construction sector.

EBID noted that its latest funding initiatives align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 9, which advocates for advancements in industry, innovation, and infrastructure. With these latest disbursements, the bank’s cumulative investment across the West African region has surpassed the $5 billion milestone.

Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, recently disclosed that the Federal Government has signed off on contracts exceeding N3 trillion for multiple sections of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, extending through Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.

The Lagos segment—Section I—was awarded at N1.068 trillion, with 30 percent of the contract sum already paid.

Section II, which includes multiple bridges and traverses difficult terrain en route to the Dangote Refinery, has been contracted at N1.6 trillion.

Sections III A and III B, covering parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, were jointly valued at N1.33 trillion.

President Bola Tinubu officially inaugurated the first completed segment of the coastal highway in May 2025, signalling the project’s steady progress.

Investors eager to fund Lagos-Calabar highway, others – Umahi

The Federal Government has said a number of financial institutions have shown eagerness to participate in the execution of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and similar landmark road projects.

The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, made the disclosure while addressing journalists after inspecting the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and some bridges in Lagos.

“I have had meetings with a lot of financial institutions, and they are very eager to participate.

“We are doing everything to complete Section 1 by December and have it approved, and that will open a floodgate for other financial aids.

“One thing that I must commend the President for and, of course, beat my chest and say glory be to God, is that the international funders came and they saw the quantum of the job we are doing.

“That, for me, is a pass mark,” Umahi said.

He said that the recently-inaugurated 30km portion of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would not be opened to motorists until completion of an additional 17.47km portion of the Section One, Phase One, of the road project.

“We completed 20km at the beginning, and then we completed 10km,” Umahi said.

He noted that the contractor, Hi-Tech Construction company, was working hard to complete the 17.47km.

Umahi said, “This is what we are working to join, and when we have joined it, if you are travelling from Ahmadu Bello Way to the Lekki Free Zone, then you can use the coastal highway.”

The minister said that the road would be tolled to ensure constant maintenance.

“Whether these roads are tolled or not, they need constant maintenance,” he added.

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