The Federal Government says it has rerouted the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway path to avoid any possible damage to subsea cables belonging to telecommunication companies.

The government also said it had reduced the project’s size from 10 lanes to six as a cost-saving measure for the legacy project.

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The Minister of Works, David Umahi, who made the announcements at a meeting with contractors on Tuesday in Abuja, also said the government had disbursed a total sum of N10bn as compensation to property owners affected by the demolition necessary for the construction of the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

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This was as it announced that the first 47 kilometres of the project would be open to the public by May of next year.

The government early this year began the construction of the Lagos-Calabar highway, which is designed to extend through nine states with two spurs leading to the northern states, using concrete pavement.

It later established a committee tasked with the responsibilities of reviewing, assessing and compensating landowners affected by the construction of the expressway.

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On May 1st, the government began payment of N2.75bn in compensation to property owners affected by the demolition necessary for the construction of the expressway.

Section one is scheduled to begin at Eko Atlantic and end at the Lekki deep sea port.

He said, “For the three legacy projects by the administration, the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, we have cut down the project size to six lanes, especially from sections two, three, and four, it shows you that we mean business. Some people have been writing that we have stopped the project. No project is stopped. As we are talking now, over four kilometres of concrete road has been completed on six lanes.

“We had to establish a new path due to complaints made by MTN on its subsea cable and Okuaja community, we had to reroute not to the new alignment, not to the gazetted alignment but far away from the two, and we came back to a new alignment at kilometre 25. So the work is going and it’s moving smoothly. We have paid the total compensation of close to N10bn. we are not owing and the contractor is highly commended for a very beautiful job, commitment and being very reasonable.