Tinubu Commends $1.126bn Financing for Lagos–Calabar Highway

President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the successful securing of $1.126bn in funding for Phase 1, Section 2 of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, describing it as a significant milestone that ensures uninterrupted progress on one of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure developments.

The funding package, fully underwritten by First Abu Dhabi Bank and the African Export-Import Bank, with partial risk coverage from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, raises total financing secured for Phase 1 of the project to $1.873bn.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President praised the Federal Ministries of Finance and Works, as well as the Debt Management Office, for their coordinated efforts in concluding the deal, which was signed on December 19, 2025.

Tinubu said the successful closure of the transaction guarantees continued work on the highway and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to exploring diverse funding options for priority economic and infrastructure projects nationwide.

Phase 1, Section 2 spans about 55.7 kilometres, linking Eleko in Lekki to Ode-Omi routes described by the Presidency as vital economic corridors that will boost trade efficiency and logistics connectivity.

The latest financing follows the earlier $747m secured for Phase 1, Section 1 in July 2025, reinforcing what officials described as the project’s scalability and strong bankability. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, called the December 19 signing a landmark moment in Nigeria’s infrastructure development.

Edun noted that the transaction represents the first fully underwritten financing of this scale for a Nigerian road project, adding that ICIEC’s participation marked its largest deal since Nigeria’s recent institutional and regulatory reforms, underscoring growing investor confidence in the country.

Minister of Works, David Umahi, had earlier opened Section 1 of the highway temporarily to traffic on December 12, 2025. The 47-kilometre stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way to Eleko village junction in Lagos was opened to ease movement during the Christmas period.

Originally conceived in the 1970s, the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway gained renewed momentum under President Tinubu in February 2024. The 700-kilometre road is designed to run from Lagos through Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, ending in Calabar, Cross River State. Additional spurs are planned to link northern corridors, including the Sokoto–Badagry and a trans-Saharan route to Cameroon.

Estimated to cost between $11bn and $13bn, the project has attracted controversy since construction began in March 2024, particularly over demolitions and compensation issues in parts of Lagos. Legal challenges have also emerged, including a $250m lawsuit filed in June 2025 by a group of foreign investors alleging constitutional and procedural breaches by the Federal Government.