50-year-old dumpsite delayed Lagos-Calabar highway project for four months- Umahi

Dave Umahi, minister of works, says a 50-year-old refusedump with a depth exceeding 10 metres delayed the construction of theLagos-Calabar coastal highway for over four months. Umahi spoke in Lagos on Monday during an inspection of thehighway project. “We also encountered a refuse dump that had been over 50years old and had over 10 metres depth and spanned two kilometres,” he said. “When we encountered it, we had to stop the work for morethan four months.” The minister said the project initially faced somechallenges starting from kilometre zero, where the Landmark Beachinfrastructure and several other properties were encountered. He said the ministry decided to alter the highway’s design,moving away from the original coastal alignment so as to preserve thestructures. “We decided as a responsible ministry to vary the design ofthe project,” Umahi said. “The implication is that we left the coast and came to a newalignment that was not designed for the project.” He said contrary to circulating reports, the Landmark Beachon Lagos Island was not demolished, noting that only the shanties surroundingthe main structure were removed. The minister added that the highway’s six lanes were splitinto three lanes on either side to save the beach infrastructure. Addressing the financial implication of the challengesencountered, Umahi said that the federal government spent N15 billion to managethe issue. “I have directed that all the videos and drawings must beexposed because additional works are involved, and I want those documentariesto be intact,” he added. Dany Abboud, managing director of Hitech ConstructionCompany Ltd., the firm handling the project, explained that the highway wassplit at kilometre 2.7 to avoid demolishing Landmark Beach and otherproperties. Abboud said the eastbound and westbound lanes merged againat kilometre 5. Abboud also said the company encountered significant wastedeposits between kilometres 3 and 9, with the largest dumpsites at kilometres 4and 9. “We had to excavate to a very big depth and replace it withsand,” he said.

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