Hitech won’t be able to construct the Lagos- Calabar coastal road

By Abang Mkpandiok

I have stated my position about this project. I do not believe that Hitech Construction Company Limited can construct this road from Lagos to Calabar (spanning a distance of over 700 kilometres) in the remaining 7 years of PBAT’s tenure.

There is every tendency that this road project will be abandoned either once it gets to Ondo State or at best, when it gets to Delta State. I have a serious doubt that this road will ever get to Calabar during the governance of this country by PBAT. An average Yoruba/South West can easily extend any project to Asaba, the end of the then Western Region and no more. The position there is, even if the project ends in Asaba/Delta State, they might have achieved in:

1. Opening up the Coastal areas of Lagos State;
2. ⁠Opening up the coastal areas of South Western Nigeria;
3. ⁠Opening up the Coastal areas of the then original Western Region;
4. ⁠The five Western region states might have been opened up and the project abandoned.

Accordingly, I am not excited about this Lagos- Calabar Coastal Road. The possibility of it getting to Oron-Calabar is almost nonexistent.

The Need to Showcase Sincerity of Purpose:

The only way to convince me of the sincerity of the Federal government genuine efforts is to break up the contract and award it to five reputable companies which will take the roads as per company as follows:-

1. Hitech Ltd – Lagos to Ogun State Boundary;
2. ⁠Company 2 – Construction of the Calabar-Oron Bridge;
3. ⁠Company 3 – Oron to Rivers State Boundary with Bayelsa State;
4. ⁠ Company 4 – Edo to Delta to Bayelsa and Rivers State Boundary;
5. ⁠Company 5 – Edo State to Ogun State.

If such five reputable companies are assigned such jobs, they can finish the work in 36 months and PBAT can commission the work in 2027. It is only if the contract is broken up, that we can be sure of its actualisation within the time frame and without the corruption ridden “Review of Contract” Syndrome in Nigeria. We are not oblivious of N1 billion contract being reviewed to N107 billion. There is no way that a single company will undertake the construction of such a gigantic project of 700 Kilometres, without calling or requesting a review of such a contract.

The Way Forward

The way to go is to break up the contract and all of us can be rest assured that the unfortunate fate of the East – West Road (EWR) will not befall this promising and life transforming project in Southern Nigeria. In a Turn by Turn Nigeria, you should get the best for the South in the 8 years that will be allowed the South. We should all benefit when it is Southern Nigeria’s turn.

Abang Mkpandiok of Udung Uwe, writes from Lagos