Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, has disclosed that four companies have shown interest in taking over and operating the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, highlighting its high potential for returns and strong appeal to private investors.
Speaking to journalists during an end-of-year press briefing, Umahi said the interest reflects the project’s commercial viability and underscores the administration’s commitment to attracting private-sector funding for critical infrastructure.
“There is international funding of 70% and there is return on investment and it is very high. There are people that have been coming; about four different companies that they want to pay 100% of what we have spent on the coastal highway section 1 and they would take it over and toll it and the process is on,” he said.
He explained that the development demonstrates growing confidence by investors in the project, adding that the government is open to public-private arrangements that ensure sustainability while reducing the financial burden on the state.
Defending the broader legacy projects of President Bola Tinubu, Umahi said they were conceived as investments rather than conventional construction efforts.
“The legacy project is an investment; it is not just a road and bridge project and it is linking all the ongoing projects of Mr President,” he said.
The minister maintained that the administration’s approach is aimed at leveraging private sector participation to deliver large-scale infrastructure while guaranteeing long-term economic benefits for the country.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project has faced public scrutiny over its cost, with the 700-kilometre road slated for completion at ₦15.6 trillion.
For instance, in October 2025, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar urged the Bola Tinubu administration to publish the full contractual details of the project, including financing terms and counterpart obligations.
“You will find out that our cost is ₦4 billion instead of the ₦8 billion claimed by the former Vice President,” a statement titled “Coastal Highway Cost Scandal: Atiku Abubakar Vindicated,” signed by Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said.
It said, “However, the same minister has now done a volte face and admitted that the actual cost is indeed closer to ₦8 billion per kilometre — precisely what Atiku warned Nigerians about.”
Atiku had earlier questioned the project’s cost structure and financing model, describing it as opaque, inflated, and suspiciously designed to benefit vested interests rather than the Nigerian people.
“This raises fundamental questions: Who are the actual financiers? What sovereign guarantees underpin this arrangement? How did a project initially presented as cost-efficient balloon to Atiku’s projected figure?” Shaibu asked.
Shaibu added, “This development reinforces Atiku Abubakar’s consistent call for due process, competitive bidding, and transparency in all major public projects. Nigerians deserve openness, not contradictions and concealed deals.”
He maintained that the call for transparency and accountability in the project has grown louder, with many Nigerians demanding answers.
“We, therefore, call on the Tinubu administration to: publish the full contractual details, including financing terms and counterpart obligations; subject the project to an independent value-for-money audit; and suspend further payments until Nigerians are assured that the project genuinely serves national interest,” Shaibu added.
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